How to Correct an Employee With a Weak Performance
All managers inevitably face the difficult and often unpleasant task of correcting an underperforming employee. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, effective communication is the key to improving employee performance issues (see reference 1). Aversion to conflict causes many managers to avoid confronting weak employee performance, creating larger problems within their domain. Oftentimes, a poorly performing employee serves to increase the workload of others, detracting from overall office morale. Consistently utilizing proactive policies crafted to address deficient employee performance will make you a better manager.
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Things You'll Need
- Counsel regarding laws governing employee relations in your locality
- Copies of union contracts, if any, signed by your company
Instructions
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1
Communicate clear expectations to all employees, and document these expectations with an acknowledgement of receipt from each employee. Use objective benchmarks gauged with clearly definable metrics of performance.
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2
Conduct an employee review clearly outlining deficient performance when it arises. Explain clearly to each weak employee why you deem his performance unacceptable. Document all instances of unacceptable employee performance in detail.
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3
Devise an action plan in support of improving a weak employee's performance. Solicit the employee's input when crafting this plan of action. Ensure the plan is clear and contains unambiguous benchmarks along with objective methodology to measure their attainment. Outline all potential negative consequences the employee faces should performance not improve.
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Provide additional training and/or resources to the employee where indicated. Ask the employee what further resources he needs to effectively do his job. Analyze high-performance workers doing the same job to derive factors that could be inhibiting the poorly-performing employee.
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Engage in regularly scheduled follow-up reviews with all underperfoming employees. Provide candid feedback concerning how the employee is progressing toward attainment of the stipulated benchmarks. Outline clearly the ramifications should the employee not bring performance up to the required standards.
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Tips & Warnings
Starting employee reviews off with positive feedback where applicable often creates a better environment for the employee to hear and accept negative feedback. Always remain professional during employee reviews, and retain your exposure even in the face of employee belligerence.
According to HRN Management Group, inclusion of personal or subjective factors within an employee review can create legal exposure (see reference 2).
