The aim of performance management is to continually improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your organisation.
Setting structured individual goals for your employees helps to direct their development, and also allows you to empirically measure their progress, which is great as long as your workforce continues to develop. But what can you do when an employee is not performing to the expected level?
When an employee is performing poorly it may be because:
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They are in the wrong job
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They are experiencing problems outside of work
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They need more information or understanding about their role
If you have an employee who is not performing as expected it might be tempting to launch straight into disciplinary proceedings. However, you need to give them a chance and explain your position first. After all, how can you expect their performance to improve if they are not aware that there is an issue to begin with?
Your first step needs to be an informal discussion with the employee so you can establish the reasons for their drop in performance and let them know that it’s a concern. Take the opportunity to find out whether:
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They are facing any particular issues or challenges, work-related or otherwise
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If there’s any way their role can be modified to improve performance
You are not obliged to make any changes to their job role (unless you are asking them to do something illegal, of course), but an honest discussion could highlight any mismatched expectations.
What do you need to keep in mind when you have a poorly-performing employee?
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Don’t ignore any warning signs during the probationary period. If the employee is a bad fit they will only get harder to deal with down the line.
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Don’t confuse a performance issue with a conduct problem.
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Don’t wait until their next review. Raise a performance issue as soon as it becomes apparent.
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Do identify the ways in which the employee is under performing. Obtain evidence.
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Do develop a performance improvement plan with the employee and get them to agree to it. Be clear about the time scale for improvement.
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Do keep an open mind about the reasons for the employee’s poor performance – it might not be a capability issue.
Hopefully a proactive approach will be enough to turn the employee’s performance around; however, this isn’t always the case. If you do need to start a formal disciplinary process all of the notes and documentation you have made will become indispensable.
