The New Year is going to arrive, and the companies are gearing up to get the better out of employees. Right now, the employees are on vacation, and once they are back they are going to be in work mode. Now, the companies have to put employees through the grind once they rejoin. Here are some steps through which employees can be guided to start the year on a positive note:

• Set clear goals:

The employees should be provided with goals so that they know how they have to work. With the right kind of instructions before them, they can chalk out their plans. It’s also beneficial because the team members what kind of responsibilities they have to undertake to attain the company goals. This way, quarterly performance reviews become easy because employees have their objectives and performance parameters laid out.

The companies also have to set some elearning goals for the year 2022. The best part is that when employees are given their performance goals, they are also assigned to some elearning programs which they feel are relevant for their skill gaps.

• Have time to interact:

Apart from precise, measurable goals, companies should also see to it that open communication is happening with employees. It’s because if the employees are facing some problems regarding these goals, they must have someone listen to them.

When the team has someone to listen to, issues get resolved, and goals are achieved. A good leader has to also appreciate employees for their work-related efforts so that they continue to perform.

The managers should take time out to listen to employees about how the company can help them grow. The employees must be having some career-related aspirations and might want to try on some new projects for mutually beneficial growth. Once employees know that their ideas are recognized by a company, they feel acknowledged.

Employees also need positive feedback from managers when they have performed well. Negative feedback is always given by the seniors when the employee is coming late to the office, but they never appreciate the junior’s efforts. That appreciation could be in the form of words like an email, or even monetary rewards like gifts.

For extracting excellent performance from their employees, you can train the managers. It’s because managers can help retain the best talent in the company, whereas the bad managers will make the talent leave the company. It’s because the former communicate, and the latter don’t.

Similarly, the learning and department employees also require inspiration to create good material for the company.

Hence, meetings must also be scheduled with them by the C-suite of the company whenever possible.

The L&D team can also ensure that the top executives want to meet them, so they must be prepared with data such as the elearning course completion metrics. The managers are interested in knowing about metrics such as how many people have taken part in and completed the course.

And how higher elearning completion rates mean faster onboarding for companies means the recruits have been sent to their roles such as attending calls and the call dropout rate is 0. The L&D department must also have ideas about the e-learning content because they know how whether a certain training topic can increase employee performance.

SMEs are experts in this knowledge domain, and hence the training department of a company must give its input when an elearning topic is being finalized.

• Provide a good work-life balance :

Companies must also make sure employees are not overworked because that can cause burnout. Employees have started resigning from jobs that don’t allow them to take leaves and even work during holidays. But companies must ensure that employees get a work-life balance. Once the employees know that they can work from home, their productivity improves.

Moreover, the worst part is that companies call employees even when the latter is on leaves because they don’t trust them. This kind of behavior is unacceptable for employers.

• Make employees a part of the decision-making:

The employees sometimes have better ideas about how to entice customers because they know the demographics better than anyone else due to their practical experience. Hence, instead of always telling them what to do, managers can also ask them about their opinions about a certain marketing idea.

When the employees are told about sales goals, they might have a more realistic knowledge about how to achieve them. Hence, allow employees a greater stake in the decision-making process because the company’s success also matters to them. They can suggest ideas and also provide strong rationality behind why they will work.

• Arrange training for retention:

Managers also must respond to the career goals of employees. Employees could be asked about their future objectives in an email, and hence it’s a great time to ask the L&D department how they can contribute.

This kind of elearning is crucial for the ’90s-born millennials who are quick to jump to new jobs once they get better pay. When employees pursue some courses on their own, it’s different, but when a company pays for their training, they feel responsible to stay back.