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Poor work performance arises far more often than misconduct, but it tends to be less well managed. Identifying and tackling poor work performance in an effective, timely fashion is an essential management skill and failure is costly. BP’s recent performance in resolving the enormous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico after the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig was clearly viewed by the Obama administration as very poor. BP and other parties received a bill for the clean-up of about £150 million (at the time of writing) and BP’s share value declined.
Talking to employees who are not meeting the required standards is not a task that managers relish. So what do you do when you have an employee who doesn’t come up to scratch?
Firstly, identify the root of the problem. It’s not always obvious and may need detailed investigation. For example, a manufacturing manager found a series of mistakes in work produced by a woman who assembled small electronic components. It was close work and required meticulous attention to detail. Her knowledge was tested (it was fine) and she was very diligent and careful. The manager was mystified until during the investigation he asked a question which made him realise that she needed spectacles for close work. Once she’d been provided with these, the mistakes stopped.
Collect the facts, including the impact of the poor performance. When you’re dealing with disciplinary processes clarity, precision and consistency are vital. Be careful with your words. Managers often get their language confused when it comes to discipline. For example, a manager might refer to poor timekeeping and say ‘Your performance has got to improve’. In that case, timekeeping is about an unwillingness to meet the standards – which is conduct. So the employee’s conduct related to timekeeping has to improve, rather than his performance.
If an employee’s performance falls below the required standard, employers should take early action. You are expected to give guidance and corrective coaching to the employee, and allow him a real and reasonable opportunity to reach the standards. The first steps will be informal. Agree and set down precise performance targets which are capable of being measured. People respond best to raising the bar little by little, so setting down targets that can be increased incrementally can work well. Write down the levels of performance to achieve and the time limit within which the targets should be met. Meet regularly to exchange feedback and reinforce all performance improvements positively.
Where an employee continues to fall short of the standards, you have fairly limited options. I recommend that managers have one or two informal chats before moving to the formal process. If you’ve had 25 informal chats and the employee still isn’t meeting the standard, the informal approach isn’t working!
One of managers’ great fears is confrontation. The best way to remove the risk of an argument is to have the facts available to you. So be prepared to clearly describe or demonstrate the standard you require in precise, quantifiable terms. Managers often say that they can’t explain precisely why the employee is below standard. While I sympathise with the communication difficulties faced by managers with complex tasks, I still take the view that if you can’t explain to the employee in what way his performance is below par, I can’t see how you’re going to be able to justify your reasons for dismissal to an employment judge ……..
The skill is to explain how and why the employee’s performance does not meet the standard in factual, objective terms. Many inexperienced managers ignore the facts and make inappropriate remarks, for example:
“Why are you so lazy?”
“Why are your widgets always wonky?”
"Your cupcakes are the worst in the department”
Mahatma Ghandi is credited with the phrase ‘Hate the sin, love the sinner’. The sentiment applies neatly to the language needed to manage poor work performance. The following table shows some examples of what to say and – perhaps even more importantly – what not to say.
It is an unfortunate fact that employee defensiveness or even aggression in the face of quite mild corrective coaching is more common now. A manager may find himself the subject of a grievance citing bullying and harassment, simply because he is trying to do his job. In the face of this type of behaviour (or in anticipation of it), many managers shy away from managing poor performance.
If an employee complains of harassment when you’re trying to manage him, there are a number of tactics to use. Make sure that your dignity at work procedure points out that managers have a right and a duty to manage. If a manager is seeking to help and encourage an employee to do his job in an appropriate fashion, it does not constitute bullying, harassment or victimisation.
Ask why the employee thinks he is being bullied. A useful phrase to bring out is ’Help me understand why you think I’m treating you less favourably than anyone else who performs at this level?’ Then wait politely for the answer. Repeat if necessary. By putting the onus back on the employee you start to call him to account.
It’s worth persevering. Once mastered, dealing with poor performance will lead to improved performance for the whole team, including that of the manager.
