Employees can be a company’s greatest asset or its biggest liability, depending on how they carry out their responsibilities. In fact, underperforming employees can undermine your organization’s performance. Learn what causes employees to underperform and how to manage underperforming employees and increase their productivity. Show
Contents What is underperformance?Workplace underperformance occurs when an employee’s quality of work has decreased below the required level. The characteristics and severity of these situations vary, but the following behaviors often demonstrate underperformance:
Productive employees are necessary for any organization to sustain its business. On the other hand, underperformers can have an undesirable effect on your company in several respects, including:
Every employer is bound to encounter times of fluctuating performance, but true underperformance needs to be taken seriously. Leaders must be able to spot the employees who are struggling and address the root causes. What causes employees to underperform?There are many reasons why employees underperform. Let’s have a look at some of them.
How to manage underperforming employeesUnderperformance is a common predicament among employees of all levels, and each instance has unique aspects. Knowing how to handle these situations with a consistent approach can prevent them from inhibiting your team’s productivity. Taking the following steps can help you address workplace underperformance: 1. Recognize that there is a problemBe perceptive to circumstances and conduct that may be indicating performance issues. Frustration and apathy often coincide with underperformance and manifest themselves in certain behaviors. Some of the telling signs of underperformance include:
As soon as you notice that an employee is underperforming, you need to act. Start by documenting specific examples of how their work has suffered and doesn’t meet expectations, including any problematic behaviors you’ve observed. Then it’s time to approach the employee and schedule a private, one-on-one meeting to address the situation and gain awareness of their perspective. 2. Conduct a meeting and ask questions to establish what causes the employee to underperformIt can be a mistake to assume you already know what the root cause of an employee’s lack of effort is. In order to find out the actual reasons, you must set an appropriate tone for the meeting and ask the right questions. The one-on-one meeting should occur in a place that is free from interruption and distractions where you won’t be overheard. Without taking an accusatory posture, start the meeting by describing specific examples of the employee’s underperformance and how it affects the rest of the team and the company.
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Learn In-Demand Then you can move on to uncovering what is contributing to the underperformance on the employee’s end and how you as a manager or the company may be playing a part in the situation. Here are some sample questions that can provide insight into the employee’s perception of the situation:
These example questions will get input from the employee about how the work environment may be impacting their performance:
Listen attentively to the employee’s responses and ask follow-up questions to better understand them and demonstrate your interest in their side of the story. Make sure that the employee understands what you expect of them and the areas that require improvement. Instruct them on all the tasks involved and the standard at which the employee should fulfill them. Have documentation for what the targets are and how the employee has missed them, so there is no room for misinterpretation. In general, stipulating exactly what must be accomplished within the job will help the employee focus on what they should be striving for. Be aware that often it is new hires who are uninformed about specific expectations. This can occur if the position’s responsibilities aren’t clarified during the hiring process. Furthermore, business changes that call for added expectations can confuse a new employee unfamiliar with the organization’s flow. 4. Manage employee expectationsIf an employee’s hopes for their job have not been realized, they may not perform at a high level. They could have particular demands for compensation, career advancement, employer ethics and values, job security, etc. but are not seeing them play out. You must discover what an underperformer has been hoping for from their job and the organization to see if it is realistic. If there is a mismatch between what they anticipate and what you can offer or do for them, this is an excellent time to discuss whether they can adjust their expectations or not.
Do you have the competencies needed to remain relevant? Take the 5 minute assessment to find out! Start Free Assessment5. Develop an action plan togetherOnce you and the employee have discussed the underperformance issues and causes, you can strategize an action plan together to work toward a resolution. You can make suggestions for fixing the problem and encourage the employee to set goals and come up with their own recommendations. Look for opportunities for job redesign or retraining/reskilling, based on the cause of underperformance. If the issues are of personal nature, you can propose taking time off to deal with them. The plan should incorporate several angles:
6. Ensure regular check-ins and follow-upsThe odds are that resolving an underperformance situation will take more than one conversation, and you must give the employee a reasonable amount of time to improve. Schedule daily or weekly meetings to monitor the employee’s progress on the action plan and encourage further growth. Give the employee plenty of opportunities to explain how their work ethic is developing and what is still challenging for them. These check-ins hold the employee accountable and provide you with the chance to emphasize performance goals and follow through with any necessary training and support. You will also be showing the employee that you genuinely want to help them improve. Once the employee’s performance reaches an acceptable level, commend their success and discuss how they can maintain this standard of work. 7. Recognize progressIf you are asking an underperforming employee to improve but never show appreciation when they do, they can feel alienated. As the employee starts to make headway, be vocal about the change you have noticed. Praise them for their effort and refer specifically to what they have accomplished and the positive impact it has. This recognition goes a long way toward giving the employee confidence in their abilities and inspiring them to work harder on the pattern of progress. Likewise, they will feel appreciated for their strengths and trust that you want to see them succeed and believe they can. 8. Practice performance coachingLearning on the job through day-to-day interactions is an excellent way to improve performance. Managers who understand performance coaching can create relevant learning opportunities out of causal dialog during work situations. This practical guidance can point employees toward new ways to do their jobs better. 9. Provide feedbackProviding specific and constructive feedback to an employee who is striving to improve their performance is essential. It will help them see their progress and be aware of areas that still need development. Ideally, it should include 360-degree feedback that you’ve gathered from people who interact with the employee. These opinions will provide insight into how the employee’s performance impacts others. Consider these principles when offering feedback:
10. Retain thorough documentationAs with addressing any employee issue, you must document the steps taken for dealing with an underperforming employee. A chronicle of the situation is a helpful resource along the way, especially if the dilemma doesn’t get resolved and the employee disputes the process. Be sure to keep the initial records from the onset of the problem and then take comprehensive notes of what transpired during any subsequent meetings and conversations. Additionally, revise the formal action plan if updates are needed. After each discussion, email the employee a summary of what transpired and any planned action steps. Don’t forget to save any email responses/proposals from the employee. You should also track the employee’s progress in writing. 11. Make a decision if performance doesn’t improveOne employee who slacks off directly impacts team morale and the work environment. If you allow the underperformance to continue without repercussions, the other hardworking team members can become resentful and discouraged. If the employee’s job performance doesn’t show signs of progress after investing a reasonable amount of time into the action plan, you need to contemplate other options. The two most common solutions are reassignment or termination. Reassignment – The employee could be better suited for another position within the organization that has different responsibilities. An alternative role with demands that fall within their current scope of technical knowledge and interpersonal skills could be just what the employee needs to feel fulfilled. Termination – When you’ve exhausted all other options, you may have to come to the last resort of letting the employee go. Although this is not ideal, it may be the best viable solution for everyone involved. The termination process is never pleasant and can get complicated, so you must follow all HR procedures and your termination policy carefully. 12. Encourage a healthy work-life balanceInspiring a healthy work-life balance is one effective method that can support an underperforming employee’s progress and also prevent underperformance from occurring in the first place. Spending too much time on the job can cause fatigue, strain, and burnout. Typically, this results in a decreased motivation and lower performance levels. Encouraging employees to take their allotted time off and offering wellness benefits can help them feel refreshed and be more productive. To concludeAlthough dealing with underperformance can be a time-consuming process, most underperforming employees will embrace a collaborative effort that coaches them to do their job better. Once you understand what causes underperformance, you can come up with an action plan to tackle it. Keeping in touch and monitoring the progress of your underperforming employees is the best way to turn an underperforming employee into a productive member of the team. |