Hold employees accountable
While having an open environment and delegating will help you foster employee engagement, employees have to know what is expected of them if you want them active in your organization.
Setting goals and holding employees accountable for their performance will keep your employees engaged in their own performance as well as the company as a whole.
Koppers has a minimum of three goals set for salaried employees each year, and those goals are reviewed periodically by their supervisor or manager.
“Everyone is always aware of what their responsibilities are and what they are accountable for through these performance goals, and each business unit has their performance goals,” he says.
As a manager, don’t develop goals for individual employees on your own. Instead, involve the individual employee in the process because developing goals is a two-way street.
“This business, through its strategic planning, will establish annual performance goals for that particular business,” he says. “Those goals are shared with the individual and between the individual or his or her supervisor or manager will develop the personal goals for those individuals.”
Don’t always view goal setting as a top-down process.
“My direct reports, we review what we expect to do as a company and some of this starts at the bottom and works up, and then the performance goals go back down through again,” he says.
“You can’t create an annual program without knowing what the market conditions are or what your plant capabilities are. So, it goes up and then it goes back through. Once we establish the financial parts of the performance goals, then you can start to drill down into individuals within that business group who should be doing these particular things to achieve that business unit goal.”
If an employee is having trouble reaching his or her individual goals, you need to look into why that is happening.
“If they’re not performing, there’s obviously a reason,” he says. “They may be valid reasons or they may be just a weak employee.
“If it’s a weak employee, a few things could happen. One, is the person really capable or does that person need a developmental plan that would require some mentoring or require an education course that may help that person be a better employee?”
Turner and his team are more proactive in taking action with those not living up to the company’s standards, but they first try to work with the employee.
“Probably over a six- to 12-month period, you’re going to know whether to make a change or not,” Turner says. “Once you see a person having issues, then the six to 12 months would kick in.”
In the end, by openly communicating, delegating and holding employees accountable, you will be able to engage employees and, in the process, form a more cohesive group.
“Whether it’s a general manager heading up a business unit or a product manager, you’ve got to win the engagement of those people,” he says. “But at the same time, they know that they’ve got to be held accountable and responsible for their performance. You’ve got to show them that you are a good leader and you’ve got to make sure that you win the engagement of those people and that they are going to follow you.”
How to reach: Koppers Inc., (412) 227-2001 or www.koppers.com
