In addition to setting clearly defined goals and deadlines for each position, you also need to establish what we at Elite refer to as Minimum Levels of Acceptable Performance. Your employees need to know how they’ll win by reaching the goals that have been established for them, and they will also need to know the consequences for not meeting the minimum levels of acceptable performance.

For example, you may tell your technicians that their goal is to average 44 billable hours a week by the end of the first quarter, with the minimum level of acceptable performance set at 39 hours. When setting the minimums, bear in mind that they need to be realistic, and they need to be based on the goals of the company. As an example, if your 2012 sales goals require that each of your four technicians produce at least 39 hours per week, and if that’s a reasonable number based on your marketing campaigns, your sales staff and your facility, then you should set the minimum at 39.  This not only prevents wide swings in productivity, but will help you reach your 2012 company goals.

For the last 20 years, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite Worldwide, Inc. (www.EliteWorldwideStore.com), offering shop owners sales, marketing and employee management audio training courses available for instant download. The company also offers coaching and service advisor training services. You can contact Cooper at [email protected], or by calling (800) 204-3548.