Handling Underperforming Employees

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If you have an employee who is not performing the way he or she should, you may want to consider a slightly different approach to handling the problem before resorting to punitive actions.

This approach highlights the idea of coaching, using the model of a learning cycle.  In this model,  coaching provides people with the opportunity to get feedback from their experiences or performance.  They get the feedback through questioning and clarifying facts about the experience.  The questioning in turn results in thought about the experience, and how the person responded to it and the consequences of his or her actions.  The idea is to empower the employee, which increases  involvement and commitment, and in turn improves performance.

The first step is to praise the employee for anything he or she has done well.  This helps set a positive tone.  Then you talk about the problem directly but courteously.  You tell the employee the reason for the conversation, and describe the behavior that has caused the problem.  If you need to, give evidence for your comments.  Make sure, however, that the focus of the comments is on the behavior of the employee, never the employee’s personality.  Then you show what the effects of the behavior have been.  For example, how it influenced a customer or caused problems for coworkers.  You also want to let the employee know how his or her behavior makes you feel.  Then ask the employee to give his or her assessment of the behavior in question.

After doing these things,  you want to review with the employee the requirements of his or her job, to make sure that you both have the same understanding of what kind of performance is expected.  The employee then should explain how he or she plans to change the behavior, as well as how the employee will convince you that he or she is serious about changing.  This explanation should be in the employee’s own words, so that he or she feels empowered to set the actions in motion that will make the necessary behavioral changes.

Then you and the employee will need to decide what actions will be taken, when the two of you will review the actions, and then summarize the agreement.

Finally, you want to finish the conversation on another positive note.  This is important, because it helps the employee to maintain his or her sense of self-confidence, otherwise the employee may not  feel the commitment to change, and the conversation just ends up creating hostility.  When the employee still feels that he or she is valued, the more apt the employee is to want to make the change.

This is the essence of coaching – making employees aware of the consequences of their actions, and enabling them to describe in their own words what they will do to change their behavior.  This empowers employees and gives them a stake in making the change.

When you’re looking for terrific employees — those who have the skills and the work ethic your Winnipeg, Manitoba company seeks — contact Pinnacle Staffing. We look forward to showing you how working with us can have a massive positive impact on your hiring efforts.

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