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The Performance Problem

If you’re a manager, you’ve either got one or you’ve had one; no manager is ever spared. Someone on your team isn’t doing his or her job. She’s not following through; he’s coming in late and leaving early. His inaccuracy creates problems for others; her inability to prioritize or say “no” causes crucial deadlines to slip.

I’ve never known a manager who enjoyed dealing with performance problems. Whether it’s the confrontation or the work involved in following up, pretty much any other task on your to-do list is more interesting and more fun. So — unsurprisingly — it’s often not done, not dealt with, and instead is overlooked and tolerated.

Not dealing with performance issues has a host of nasty side effects. Team morale suffers: why should anyone feel motivated to do their best when one team member isn’t carrying his share? Your morale as a manager suffers: you know you’re avoiding the issue. The productivity and overall performance of the team suffers: when everyone’s morale and motivation is down, disengagement is the inescapable result. When disengagement happens, productivity inevitably declines. And just as inevitably, your credibility with your team, your peers, and your manager declines as well.

All this happens gradually; it’s a slow, subtle slide.

The bottom line is, you’re not doing anyone any favors. Whatever the reason may be for the poor performance, allowing the situation to drag on creates misunderstandings that could be difficult to overcome down the line — right up to and including potential lawsuits.

Here are some steps to address the problem. Preferably, you’ll use these ideas immediately upon spotting a performance issue. And if you have a lingering problem on your team, these can help you take action.

Be clear

Call it aversion to confrontation, sensitivity to someone’s feelings, or whatever you want, but very often people with performance issues never get a clear message that there even is a problem.

The old advice to “sandwich” bad news between compliments is, frankly, very bad advice. People pay happy attention to the compliments, and barely hear the problem description.

So don’t beat around the bush. Be specific about what behavior is required. Let your employee know exactly what to do, and how you’ll be measuring improvement. And set a time frame by which you expect to see that improvement.

Ask why

This is a question that’s often overlooked, and yet it has the potential to lead to quick, if not always easy, solutions.

As you’re discussing the issue with your employee, simply ask, without expectation of what you’ll hear, “Why? Why is this a problem? What’s happening?”

There could be a skill gap — which is easily resolved with mentoring or training.

There could be a talent gap — this could be something this particular employee will always find difficult to do. If so, you might rearrange job duties so that tasks go to those who are naturally talented to do them.

If the talent gap is a crucial part of the job, then the job itself may not be a fit for this person. In that case, you and your employee may have some difficult choices to make — but better that, than try to force a square peg into that proverbial round hole.

Take action

By now, your employee knows what’s expected, and you know the “why” of the problem. You’re ready to create an action plan, which could range from transferring this person to a job more suited to their talents, to scheduling additional training; from putting him or her on a formal performance plan, to simply agreeing to regular follow-up for a specified time period.

Whatever the plan is, and however formal or informal the actions are, you must have a plan. Fairness and honesty require being scrupulous about action steps for all concerned, including specific dates for completion.

Follow up

This is where things often break down. You may have done everything else beautifully — but then, somehow, the follow-up doesn’t happen. The regular weekly meeting is skipped once, and never rescheduled. The training class doesn’t happen. The measurements of results aren’t made, or are “fudged” with insufficient information.

Why? Plenty of reasons! Fear of confrontation continues to play a big role, especially if the initial meetings were adversarial. And as every manager knows, following up on performance issues takes time — time that’s not easy to come by in an over-crowded schedule.

To be blunt, if you don’t follow up, you might as well never start the process at all. If you don’t follow up, you’ve just given your problem employee a blank check to behave however he or she wants. And you’ve created an even bigger morale issue with the rest of your team — and yourself.

Keep notes

If the worst happens and you have to fire someone, you’ll want documentation of every step you took. Check with your Human Resources department to learn your company’s requirements if you don’t already know.

Meet often — with everyone

A performance issue can start with a simple misunderstanding over expectations. Dealt with early, it’s a non-issue. Allowed to linger, it can become a huge issue.

When you meet often with every individual on your team, you can address problems before they grow. Even more importantly, you can reward excellence as it happens, instead of waiting for the annual review cycle. Your understanding of each person’s preferences and unique talents will grow, enabling you to know immediately who can best fill various roles and project needs as they arise. Overall, your team’s performance will improve simply because you know them better, know what they’re best at, and know how to take advantage of their strengths while minimizing their weaknesses.

And that’s the truest sign of a good manager.

“Deep down, the poor performer knows he is struggling before you do. Maybe he can’t find the words, or maybe his pride won’t let him say it, but he knows. On some level he wants your help. And so, subconsciously, he puts himself in situations where his weaknesses are exposed. He is daring you, pushing you to fire him.” Martin P, police chief, as quoted in First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman.

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