How to Deal With Bad Employee Performance
Handling poor employee performance is one of the harder aspects of management and leadership. On one hand, you want to maintain good relations with all of your direct reports, but on the other hand you must consider the needs of the business.
When you deal effectively with poor performance, you may be able to steer an employee in the right direction, or determine if your employee is just not right for the team. The key in handling poor performance is consistency, so here are some steps to help you create your performance management process.
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Instructions
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Manage Performance
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1
Begin your performance management process as soon as you notice a problem. It's easy to see a performance problem and hope that it's going to get better, but this is not an effective way to correct the issue.
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2
Explain the performance issue to the employee in specific terms. Describe the action, what is wrong with it, and the consequences for not correcting it.
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3
Manage the conversation by ensuring that it keeps the focus on the individual and his or her performance. Try to avoid being sidetracked into a discussion about other team members' performance or other situations.
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4
Clarify the standards to which the employee is held, even if you have already discussed them. If the performance standard is in writing, such as in a performance plan agreement or handbook, use this as a reference.
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5
Create an action plan to change the employee's performance. Put measurable standards in the plan, such as "achieve 5 percent increase in customer satisfaction surveys before March 30th". Remember to ask for the employee's input and let him or her guide the action planning process.
Evaluate and Take Action
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Evaluate your employee and observe his or her performance on a regular basis. Examine his or her work to determine if the situation is improving.
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Admit to yourself when the employee is on a "dead end road", that is, when he or she does not show any signs of improvement. Allowing a poor performer to continue with no improvement can harm your credibility as a leader.
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8
Take disciplinary action quickly to avoid further performance problems. Waiting to take a disciplinary step can create more problems for you and for your team.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep a written record of conversations with the employee. Record the date, the performance issue, and the action plan.
Keep it private. Avoid having a performance improvement discussion in any place where it can be overheard.
Use everything you learn during your discussion as tools to coach the poor performer. You may be surprised at how a little individual attention can improve performance.
