One of the best approaches I’ve seen to the challenge of monitoring Gen Yers’ and Zers’ performance is making them responsible for keeping track of their own performance.

Give young workers tools like project plans, work diaries, and checklists. Ask them to keep track of their own work in writing and report to you on a regular basis. “I have them write down everything,” said the manager of an entry-level group in a large insurance company. “I have them keep track of their whole day in an activity log. Most of them find it very helpful. For me, I couldn’t function without it because I have twenty-six people. I can help them track down just about any problem any time because I say, ‘Let’s just go through your activity log and see what happened.’ My group is the least experienced one in this entire company and our error rate is the lowest. I attribute that entirely to the activity logs. What they love is being the highest-performing group and the rewards that come with that.”

I asked, “Exactly what do you think was it about those activity logs that made such a difference?”

The answer: “We use the logs to go back and find errors, eliminate the errors, and prevent the errors from recurring. But the biggest impact is how it impacts their work. It slows them down and forces them to double- and triple-check their work. Just keeping the activity logs makes them more careful.”