How to manage poor employee performance

When one member of your team begins to perform below par, this can have a knock-on effect across the whole business. So, dealing effectively with performance issues is a must.

Your team is the beating heart of your company. Everyone in your core departments must be able to work productively, with the right levels of engagement, motivation and focus. Productivity will be undermined if employees are beginning to habitually underperform, so it’s important that you look for solutions in a speedy and effective manner.

Focusing on the solution, not the problem.

Telling a valued employee that they’re not meeting their performance targets is never an easy task. But a speedy and proactive approach may make your business and morale stronger.

In a scenario where poor performance is holding a member of staff back, it’s important to focus on the solution, not the problem. There are plenty of ways to track employee performance in a modern business. The key is to focus on resolving the issue, rather than dwelling on the stats.

Additional training can often be helpful for poorly performing employees. The staff member in question may require more skills to perform their job properly, so a tailored programme of training and education can work wonders. And using the latest in performance management software and systems can help you to pick up on mistakes and avoid human error.

To deal effectively with poor performance:

• Set clear expectations of performance – if employees are going to perform well, it’s vital that you have agreed goals and targets for each role in the team. Having a clear job description – detailing responsibilities, the scope of the role and what’s expected from a performance perspective – helps to clarify expectations on both sides.
• Tackle performance issues early – when you spot a performance issue, deal with it quickly. Talk to the employee in question and give them a chance to respond. It may be that a simple discussion is enough to make them amend or improve their working methods and bring their performance back to an acceptable level.
• Track and record employee performance – Keep a record of each employees’ performance over time. This could be as simple as logging monthly tasks in a spreadsheet, or you could invest in a software team performance solution, like Monday.com, to get really granular with your tracking. Armed with this data, you can talk about specific examples of performance issues and help employees measure any improvements.
• Understand employees’ rights and your obligations – it’s critical that you have a good understanding of employment law in your territory, and how this affects the rights of your staff (and your requirements as an employer). The sweet spot is to ensure you’re meeting your compliance needs, while being fair, honest and transparent about what’s expected of each and every team member.

Find out more about employee performance solutions

If you’re faced with ongoing employee performance issues, now’s the time to get proactive. We can help you choose the appropriate processes, systems and software for managing your team.

Find out more about employee rights and your compliance obligations on the government’s website.

Get in touch to talk through your employee management needs.