• Have clear outcomes and outputs
• Set clear guidelines not just for what needs to be achieved, but for how these goals will be achieved
• Make sure that line managers at each level are clear how their departmental goals are linked to the overall organisation’s goals
• Train line managers to help their teams set the right goals for both individuals and teams, especially if team performance is important and rewarded
• Keep the system really simple – regular goal review and feedback by line managers and their reports are the most effective way to improve employee performance
• Incorporate multi-source and 360 Degree Feedback somewhere along the performance process as it can add a level of information and awareness that supports the cascading of goals

People can made immediate assumptions about what they think you’re telling them, and respond less than positively.

Good listening skills are a critical skill set that successful leaders, managers and influencers all demonstrate frequently or almost  all the time.They’re also one of the key skills that, with a bit of work, can complement and enhance someone who’s already got a broad range of good management or leadership skills.  A good way to become a better listener is to ask your colleagues to tell you each time they catch you not listening for what they’re trying to tell you, or ignoring their messages.  Becoming aware of this habit through feedback can help you to change and improve those critical skills.

Whilst we think it’s a fun idea, we think it would be even better if the team were able to give some written thoughts, in a structured way, about what it’s like to work in that team - not specifying any individuals, but how it feels, if it’s generally a positive experience, how the team deals with problems, conflicts and team members who don’t pull their weight.

An added dimension would be to include external feedback from the team’s colleagues and clients - it would be very useful for the team to understand how it’s viewed from the outside.

 Team Works from Track Surveys is a pre-designed 360 Degree Feedback that can be delivered online and customised for each team or organisation’s profile.

You can vote here on whether you support him or not: Do you feel sympathetic towards António Horta-Osório?

When I voted an hour ago, the vote was split almost equally between sympathy and ‘he gets paid enough to take it’.

Whether you do feel sympathy for him or not, it’s a good illustration how overwork and stress can take their toll on people at any level in an organisation.  Arguably the higher you are, the more stressful your job will be.  Other circumstances can of course also have an influence on how bad the effect of a stressful job will be.  Things like health problems and domestic and family issues can all create the situation where a challenging and healthy job can turn into a stressful and unmanageable nightmare.

Companies in every sector need to address the issue as a matter of urgency.  The starting point is knowing what the general stress points in the organisation are likely to be (they can be different in different organisations), what the overall levels of (negative) stress are, and then being able to identify stress at an individual level and offer help and support before it becomes a problem.

For more information on measuring stress levels in your organisation, contact us on +44 20 7206 7279.

Go to Climate Check to find out how we can help you measure stress and other critical factors in your organisation.

33% of companies who responded said that stress was the most common cause of absence for non-manual workers.

This represents 1 in 3 employees and is something that no organisation can afford right now.

The first step in dealing with work-place stress is to understand what the stress points are for people in the organisation - every organisation is different and its staff will be subject to particular stress points.  An anonymous survey can be a very useful first step in measuring how people are feeling, and where the stress points may be worst.

Training for managers in spotting signs of stress is very important too, as they have the most influence over individual employees’ day to day working conditions. 

A personal stress indicator tool that an employee can access online to test their own levels of stress can be added as part of the stress ‘awareness’ toolkit for the organisation.  It can also provides anonymised but critical data on stress levels and can allow the organisation to monitor this very important area on an ongoing basis.

Find out more about Track’s Climate Check tool to support stress management in your organistion.