This overview is designed to help LCIs understand HOW and WHY to evaluate the performance of their staff and to create high-performing teams.

Partners Worldwide contends that setting goals and objectives for all staff members - and reviewing those goals regularly - is a vital step in building functioning teams, improving organizational efficiency, and ultimately in growing the capacity and excellence of your LCI.

First of all, let's be clear: local community institutions are run by people. It is not the buildings and the strategic plans that hold the key to ending poverty; it's the human beings, with their minds and hearts and capabilities. Build your team realizing that your staff are not cogs in a machine, but your greatest investment!

Secondly, evaluate your people and invest in them. Don’t shy away from performance reviews. Schedule them at regular intervals and plan for them. They should be something employees look forward to, not fear. They should offer opportunities for incentives, promotions, and professional development. For staff who are not meeting objectives, reviews should be times of encouragement and support, not shaming. Use these times to ask questions, learn, and course-correct if needed.

Lastly, use staff feedback to improve. No one knows your operations like your own people. Listen intently to their experiences, collect their feedback systematically, and analyze it. Continual improvement is a beautiful thing. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from your insiders.

LCIs that don’t build up high-performing teams, invest in their employees’ futures, and pro-actively seek their employees feedback are more likely to struggle with high-turnover and poor implementation. Those companies that implement a “strengths-based” development model for their staff average a 29% profit increase, according to a Gallup study.