Performance Management:
Dealing with Problem Employees
Most of us, managers included, prefer to avoid conflict and confrontation. We find it uncomfortable. We aren’t sure what to say. We may even have concerns about what we can legally discuss with employees, or how to handle strange or disturbing behaviors.
Start by thinking about the issue as a shared problem. If you have an employee whose performance is slipping, your first reaction may be to blame him entirely. You may be thinking, “John has done it again! I just can’t depend on that guy.” This is a very human response. When there are under-performers in your department, your management abilities may become suspect, so it’s quite natural to react defensively. But consider the difference in “feel” to this concept of the problem: “John has damaged another batch that will have to be scrapped. He and I need to sit down and figure out what’s going on so that this doesn’t happen again.” Now the incident is the problem, rather than John being the problem. Such a mind-set will help a manager approach the issue in a way that is far more likely to result in a productive outcome. Remember, this approach is for the usually satisfactory employee who seems to be sort of getting off track. If John has done this every week for 3 months, and he still has a job, then the issues may not lie with John.
Let’s consider when performance short-falls may occur.
Do you have veteran employees
who are being expected to do new
things? Or are they
perhaps not being challenged at
all and are sort of treading
water? Are they suddenly
failing at work you know they
are familiar with? Or do
you have an unusual amount of
new employees? Your
approach may be different
depending on what you’re seeing
and what population you are
dealing with.
If you see performance short-falls in new employees you have two areas to address at once. First, ask two questions: Do they know what the expectations are? Secondly, do they have the skills and abilities to meet those expectations? If they don’t have a clear idea of what’s expected, you can correct that pretty quickly. If they know what’s expected but can’t seem to do it, that’s also relatively easy to train to. But if you have a new employee who knows what to do and how to do it and is still not performing, then you may be looking at a disciplinary issue or perhaps a personal issue.
Talk to the employee about whether things are going well at home. If he is under personal stress, you may need to refer him for counseling or your Employee Assistance Plan or even medical attention. But if none of those conditions exist, it’s time for a very frank discussion about the unsatisfactory performance, to include the impact and even the financial cost of the errors, if any. If you re-establish performance expectations, clarify goals and deadlines and confirm with the new employee his understanding of your expectations, you should consider initiating disciplinary measures if acceptable performance is still not forthcoming.
Go to Part 2:
Veteran Employee Problems
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