September 30th, 2010 by Robin Green

A simple rule of thumb for HR management: provide and expect the best in your employees. In order to motivate staff and ensure that your employee turnover rate is low, follow this golden rule, which could actually be applied to all human relationships.

If you treat your employees as highly motivated and engaged people, that’s what they’ll be. The best teachers we have in life are those who bring out the best in us. How do they do it? By simply acting as if that’s who we are–the best versions of ourselves.

Provide great training, and don’t shy away from adding an element of enjoyment. Game-like training not only teaches, but engages as well. But of course, this depends on the system. Choose an LMS that allows your training to be interactive and enjoyable, with tools like videos and simulations, real-time recording and podcasts, along with the standard exam and quiz tools.

Another way to motivate employees and decrease employee turnover is, as I have written before, creating effective performance reviews. Take the time to do them, but be sure to make them a space for real dialogue.

Before the performance review, make a list of pluses and minuses that you perceive in your employee, and bring it to the review. Go over the pluses first and win over your employee, then diplomatically go over the negatives. Truly listen. Suggest solutions to problems employees might be having, letting them know that they have your support.

Coggno is now offering a free trial for performance review training creators on its learning management system. Create an online course for free, whether it be for internal use, for inclusion in Coggno’s E-learning Marketplace, or for outside syndication on hundreds of websites.

————–

Coggno.com offers high-quality online training.

September 23rd, 2010 by Robin Green

When an employee begins a new job, it’s critical to start off on the right foot. Employee turnover is a wasteful, costly phenomenon that happens to too many organizations. It isn’t necessarily true that you’re hiring “bad employees”, but that once they are hired, the motivation element in the workplace may be lacking.

How can you ensure that the employee you have hired fulfills the expectations and the work that you have for him/her? The answer is in the first few weeks of an employee’s new term–during training.

Dynamic and effective training ensures that employees understand their tasks, gives them the practice and theory they will need to do their job with excellence, and creates a greater sense of team spirit in the workplace. In fact, there is a growing trend to nurture the team spirit and true engagement aspects of training.

With a learning management system (LMS) online training that treats training as a game and the participant as a motivated and interested learner, (which everyone is at the onset of a new job) Using an LMS, you can create dynamic, face-to-face training that has a game-like element, which engages and teaches at the same time.

In fact, the beginning of a new position isn’t the only time to implement an LMS online training course. If you have staff who are not living up to their potential and/or your standards, it might be a good time to introduce an online course. You can make the LMS online course dynamic and fun, and allow employees to complete some activities and lessons independently, while working with coworkers on other activities.

Coggno is now offering a free trial for performance review training creators on its learning management system. Create an online course for free, whether it be for internal use, for inclusion in Coggno’s E-learning Marketplace, or for outside syndication on hundreds of websites.

—————-

Coggno.com offers a range of world-class LMS platforms.

September 17th, 2010 by Robin Green

I’ve already mentioned employee dread of performance reviews; but what about the managers giving the reviews? Surveys report that managers also harbor a strong dislike for performance reviews, oftentimes because an organization’s employee performance development is often lacking. Oftentimes, supervisors have a difficult time remembering the major achievements of each employee in a given year, let alone their goals, development, and other contributions.

Short memories on the managerial end and insufficient time spent on goal-setting and performance assessment throughout the year often make annual reviews unfair, inaccurate and worst of all, ineffective. Lack of preparation for a performance review communicates that you do not take the review seriously, and you can safely assume that neither will the evaluated employee.

Why are performance reviews important in the first place? Study after study shows that successful organizations are the ones whose employees have a sense of “we”.  It’s like what the poet William Butler Yeats once wrote: “Because I helped to wind the clock, I came to hear it strike.” People want to feel useful to and part of an organization, and recognized for their contributions. A one-sided lecture based on vague ideas about each employee (this is some managers’ idea of a performance review) is likelier to do much more harm than good for employee development.

A learning management system (LMS) can help solve this problem. LMS performance management removes the focus on the performance review itself. Instead, it places an emphasis on the whole picture, beginning to end, of performance management and improvement strategies. These include employee training and cross-training, dynamic lessons and assignments, employee performance improvement, performance development, comprehensive feedback and performance feedback.

The cost of using an LMS to manage performance development and feedback is low and even free in some cases, but the value is great. An investment in systematic performance development is an investment in your most precious resource–your people.

Coggno is now offering a free trial for performance review training creators on its learning management system. Create an online course for free, whether it be for internal use, for inclusion in Coggno’s E-learning Marketplace, or for outside syndication on hundreds of websites.

———————-

Coggno.com provides world-class online educational training.

September 8th, 2010 by Robin Green

With the economy on the upswing, you may find it the right time to finally approach your manager about a pay raise. A great context in which to do so is during a successful performance review. If your performance review is less than sparkling, it may not be the best time. So how can you nail your performance review?

Go in prepared. You might first consider taking a brief LMS preparation course. By doing so you’ll not only learn all the tips on how to have a successful interview, but many LMS courses also provide practice reviews and checklists to help you prepare.

You’ll find out the answers to questions such as: What control can I exercise during my performance review? What will the review cover, and what time periods will be reviewed? How can I showcase my accomplishments from the past year? The more prepared you go in to the interview, of course, the more successful you will be. The response your pay raise appeal receives is also likelier to be positive the stronger case you present for yourself.

Just how likely is it that your boss actually grants you a pay raise? Surveys show that pay raises are back on the table for many companies, although they may be modest ones. According to one Massachusetts-based survey, about 65% of the 476 U.S. business leaders surveyed are considering pay increases this year. Why? One reason is to prevent a potential flight of top talent once the economic situation has clearly improved.

Among the pay incentives employers are considering, merit increases are one reported by 66% to be most likely to occur. Therefore, one way to prepare for your performance review is to highlight the last year’s accomplishments. Your boss is most likely only vaguely aware of all the things you have accomplished in the last year. Remember that your performance review is the perfect time to point out the achievements that you believe are worthy of attention.

Be sure to mention anything extra that you think was above and beyond your regular responsibilities. Also don’t be afraid to point out times you took on extra tasks, put in overtime when not asked, worked to resolve work-related disagreements, or made your voice heard.

To demonstrate that you are a good candidate for a raise, take an LMS prep course and come prepared with a mental list of your accomplishments and behaviors worthy of brownie points.

Coggno is now offering a free trial for performance review training creators on its learning management system. Create an online course for free, whether it be for internal use, for inclusion in Coggno’s E-learning Marketplace, or for outside syndication on hundreds of websites.

——————

Coggno.com offers world-class LMS platforms.

September 3rd, 2010 by Robin Green

Do you have an annual performance review coming up? An LMS prep course could help you make it a success.

Oftentimes people dread performance reviews for all the wrong reasons. You might be unfamiliar with the process, or haven’t taken the time to reflect on the work year, or create professional goals for the future. You might believe it’s time for a pay raise, but you aren’t sure if it’s the right time to ask.

The trick is to go prepared. Keep in mind that workplaces do performance reviews differently. While some require that you take time to assess yourself, and later use that assessment as the basis for your review, others focus more on the future, or the past. Find out from your boss before the review for some specifics on how the process works.

Besides finding out the structure of the performance review, pick up an LMS online course or information guide to prepare you for the review. An LMS online course in performance review can help you answer questions such as: How do I prepare for my performance review? What is its purpose, and what can I achieve during the review? What will take place during the interview, and what will it cover? (You may also ask your boss this question.) Can I ask for things I want, for example, LMS training and further education? What is a good review? What rights do I have? Is it an appropriate space to complain about problems I’ve been experiencing at work? What is my role in the interview? And more.

Once you’ve answered these questions for yourself, you’ll realize that there’s no reason to dread your performance review; in fact, you may even look forward to it and take advantage of the space it provides for you to speak with your employer.

Coggno is now offering a free trial for performance review training creators on its learning management system. Create an online course for free, whether it be for internal use, for inclusion in Coggno’s E-learning Marketplace, or for outside syndication on hundreds of websites.

——————–

Coggno.com is a leading provider of high-quality LMS.