7 Hidden Reasons Your Employees Aren’t Hitting Targets

So, how to fix this?

• Use SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound).
• Schedule regular check-ins with your team to align expectations and clarify doubts that may arise as the project progresses.
• Encourage employees to summarize tasks in their own words so as to ensure they’ve understood the nuances well.

2. Skill Gaps

A 2024 study showed that nearly 70% of world leaders acknowledge the existence of a skills gap. And this is adversely impacting their organisations. Suffice it to say even the most motivated employees can’t succeed without the right skills. Skill gaps are a silent productivity killer, particularly when roles evolve faster than training programs can keep up.

Is there a way to fix to this? Yes! Here’s what you do:

• Conduct a skills audit to identify gaps. Work with your team in an iterative manner to bridge them.
• Offer targeted training programs or mentorship opportunities. Collaboration is the key to knowledge exchange, which in turn helps improve performance.
• Invest in upskilling initiatives, such as certifications or workshops, tailored to your industry. Do this proactively; do this consistently; do this iteratively.

3. Personal Challenges

The recent 90-hour workweek proposed by L&T’s chairman, S.N. Subrahmanyan, created quite a furore in the corporate world. One cannot deny that life outside work can affect life at work. Employees facing health issues, family crises, or financial stress often struggle to maintain focus at work, which directly impacts their performance.

How do you fix this?

• Cultivate a culture of empathy. You can do this by normalizing open conversations about personal challenges.
• Provide access to/recommend Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) or counselling services to your team members.
• Show flexibility with remote work options or adjusted deadlines when possible.

4. Cultural Misfit

An employee who doesn’t feel aligned with the company’s culture may face difficulties fitting in. This is especially true for Gen Z who value a ‘sense of belonging’ over anything else. Misalignment in core values can quickly lead to disengagement, which, once again, affects performance.

Here are a few quick fixes:

• Clearly define and communicate your company’s values during the onboarding process. Encourage new hires to ask questions and seek clarity on things that matter to them.
• Conduct employee surveys about workplace satisfaction and cultural alignment regularly. These become an empirical indicator of team chemistry, which comes in handy when your team’s in a lurch.
• Create opportunities for team bonding and inclusive activities.

5. Organisational Policies and Unrealistic Expectations

You may have seen some job applications have a never-ending list of must-have requirements. While going through them, it strikes you—they’re not looking for humans, they’re looking for superhumans! The same principle applies in an organisation & team. Outdated policies or sky-high expectations can demoralize even the best teams. When employees feel they’re set up to fail, motivation nosedives.

Here’s how employers can change the status-quo:

• Re-evaluate policies, modernise them where needed, and work actively towards removing bureaucratic bottlenecks (this advice of course works better for C-suite executives).
• Use ground data to set achievable targets based on historical performance. Your team comes with diverse skillset, maximise everyone’s talent. To do this, you need to realise their talents first.
• As employers, encourage your managers to recognize and reward effort, not just outcomes.

6. Inadequate Resources

While talking about diverse teams, the converse is also true. Some teams are understaffed. And this makes it hard to hit targets. Inadequate resources, whether technological, financial, or human, can cripple productivity and morale. It can lead to frustrations and general disengagement. Incentives may not work effectively in such cases.

To fix this issue, you need to dig deeper:

• Audit resource availability regularly. Be it on a project-by-project basis or yearly/biannually.
• Provide access to tools that streamline workflows, like project management software, and maximise efficiency, like AI tools.
• Address understaffing issues promptly to avoid burnout among team members.

7. Lack of Feedback and Recognition

An HBR podcast captured the essence of feedback in an impactful opening statement: “Feedback is information, and when it’s negative feedback about job performance, that’s a crux moment in the interaction between a manager and a subordinate”. Employees thrive on feedback and recognition. Without it, they tend to feel undervalued, unmotivated, and unsure about how to improve.

The simple fix here is to facilitate this process and here’s how you do that:

• Make feedback a two-way street. Combine performance reviews with informal check-ins. Millennials and Gen Z expect (and appreciate) direct feedback in short bursts.
• Celebrate small wins publicly to boost morale. Make it known to your team that their achievements are not going unnoticed.
• Leverage peer recognition programs to build a culture of appreciation.