The impact of poor performance is widespread and affects the whole team including the manager and the wider organisation. Great managers master the essential management skill of dealing with underperformance. The key is to be consistent and using the following process will help avoid the anxiety associated with dealing with underperformance for both manager and employee.
Check that Poor Performance Exists
It is vital to be certain that genuine poor performance actually exists and to be sure where the real issue lies. True underperformance occurs when someone has not achieved agreed outcomes. Clarify the issue, whether the outcomes were never defined; or were defined badly, making it impossible to determine whether the outcomes were met; or if there really is an underperformance problem.
The first management step is to determine whether a problem exists and identify the real issue.
Define the Desired Performance Results
Once the issue has been identified, collect all the facts and information available, including the impacts of the underperformance. Explaining why an outcome is important can be helpful during the performance meeting.
Managers must work out what results are required, both in terms of outcomes for the future and more immediate improvements to be made. These results must be realistic and achievable by the employee.
Conduct the Poor Performance Meeting
It is important to remove opinions and emotions from any poor performance discussions, present facts and be respectful towards the employee at all times. This is not a personal attack it is a problem to be solved and actions to be taken must be agreed upon.
Give the employee time to prepare for the meeting. Explain the situation from a management point of view and invite comments and questions.
Ensure that both the manager and the employee agree there is an issue. Work with the employee to define an action plan. Actions to rectify the situation must be specific and are best defined by the employee not the manager as this helps ensure ownership.
Managers must keep an open mind and be flexible:
- the employee may not realise there is a problem and only needs expectations to be made clear
- the employee may know there is a problem but genuinely have no idea how to resolve it and may need some help
- the employee may come up with a surprising or unusual action plan and managers should be wary of dismissing such ideas without consideration
Agree a date for a follow-up meeting, what outcomes must be achieved by then and how the employee can ask for extra support if required.
Follow up and Review Performance Results
The final step in managing underperformance is to follow up on agreed upon actions, monitor the situation and review results.
If performance is not improving, then follow these steps again and conduct another meeting. Do not wait until the scheduled meeting date.
Reinforce all performance improvements immediately. The size or scope of improvement is less important than the general direction.
Ensure the agreed upon follow-up meeting takes place as scheduled.
Learning how to deal with underperformance is an essential management skill which, once mastered, will lead to improved performance for the whole team, including the manager.
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