Handling the Poor Performer

So, for the new year you've decided to finally take some action on the poor performer you've been dealing with.

First, here are some statistics you need to know about.

• 93% of employees say that working with a low performer has decreased their productivity. •87% of employees say that working with a low performer has made them want to change jobs.
--Leadership IQ, June 2006

33% of management and 43% of non-management employees think their companies are not doing enough to deal with poor performers.
--Sirota Survey Intelligence, July 2006
Below is a 10-point list of how to handle poor performing employees. For more detailed information, sign up for one of the upcoming "Beyond The Basics" workshops listed below.

1. Determine if performance is poor
a. Do not use hearsay or a “gut feeling”
b. Be specific, stick to the facts
• Measurable
• Observable
• Quantifiable
c. Have specific examples ready
• Compare to average or history
• Have an example of poor performance situation
d. Measurement methods
• Revenue
• Customer comments
• Sales
• Observation
• Customer visits per day/week
• Professionalism
• Cleanliness & truck organization
• Organizational skills
• Paperwork
• Following procedures or policies
• On time or tardiness
• Abuse of sick or personal days
• Peer review (team player)
• Personal growth
e. Measurement
• Identify specific areas that require improvement that made the performance problem obvious to you
• Avoid spending time on other issues that are not specific to him or her or relevant to the reason you are meeting - For example if you mention being late several times as a main issue, when it really isn’t, the employee may point out that someone else is late more than they are.

2. Review performance with the individual
a. This must be done as soon as poor performance is obvious
b. Don’t wait forever to “build a case”
c. Explain the intention is to help and improve
d. The review is to determine the cause of the poor performance and determine an action plan
e. Ask questions
f. Document everything and provide copies
g. Possible questions for the performance review - Avoid asking questions that can be answered with a yes or no answer. For example say:
• Please explain how what you do on your job can influence your performance measurement. What part of your job do you believe that you are not performing well at?
• Is there anything that can be changed to improve this?
• Do you believe that you are fully qualified for the job or do you believe some training would help?
• Are there any personal issues that are distracting you from your work? Do you want to discuss them?
• Do you like what you are doing? Why or why not?
• What changes would have to take place to improve this situation? (this would include any recommendations they may have for them personally and for the work environment)
• How would you rate your performance if you were me?



3. Determine why performance is poor
a. The employee has no idea what is expected
• Explain the measurement system
• Review their job description
• Ask them to explain their tasks and your expectations
• Review any points of misunderstanding
• If this may be the only issue, set up a meeting for four weeks and review what has happened
b. Lack of training or knowledge
• Find a source of information to get them trained (you, another employee or an outside source)
• They must be able to contribute their time to improve their career
• Set up a training & development plan for this person
• Set up a follow up meeting if this is the issue, preferably four weeks or less
c. A non-work related problem is distracting them
• You must be careful in this situation
• Avoid personal questions
• Limit your opinions to work topics only
• Don’t try to solve personal issues or problems
• Allow time for them to handle their situation, show concern and plan a date to re-meet and see if they have resolved it
d. Employee is not suited for the job
• Review the value of this person and see if they may be suited better in another position in your operation
• If not, they will need to be terminated
e. They just perform poorly in everything and maybe don’t really care
• This is the only other reason left after other explanations are exhausted
• Termination

4. Determine the action plan
a. Could be determined during the initial review or shortly thereafter with a follow-up meeting
b. Set specific goals
• Measurable
• Quantifiable
• Set Dates

5. Determine an agreed upon timeline of events
a. Set specific dates for feed back
b. Set dates for review
c. Explain long term

6. If performance meets desired standards
a. Immediately reward the performance with positive feedback
• Performance improvement needs to continue long term
• Follow-up steps must be laid out and explained
• List all rewards and potential outcomes

7. Set ramifications for failure
a. The employee must know what will happen should he or she fail to improve
• Short term & long term
• Performance improvement needs to continue long term
• Steps must be laid out and explained
• List all ramifications
• Time off with no pay
• Penalties
• Termination

8. Follow-Up
a. Give regular feedback
b. Don’t wait for the formal meeting to discuss performance changes
c. As soon as improvement is noticed give regular feedback
d. If no improvement is noted, give regular feedback
e. The scheduled follow-up meeting
• Should simply be a meeting discussing what everyone already knows
• As any other review, regular feedback on performance is important
• Do what you said you were going to do
f. Determine next steps

9. Don’t be afraid to modify recommendations
a. The employee may have other issues that need attention
b. You may have resolved one issue and another surfaced

10. Repeat steps as necessary
a. Make sure the employee knows that performance improvement must be sustained
b. The employee must also know that continued improvement is required as part of his or her job
c. Once again, document everything and communicate often

In Conclusion:
• It’s a team effort & YOU are the coach
• Try to keep emotions out of your business decision
• You have to stick to your decisions and be firm and not wishy-washy
• Hire right next time - If you start with something good, your odds of success are better
• DOCUMENT EVERYTHING!


Copyright - Training Source Inc. 2011
You may copy and distribute this document only with written permission from Frank Besednjak