Poor employee performance is a common occurrence in any organization. Although it’s something every manager will deal with at some point, it can have lasting impacts on the workplace, from causing diminished productivity to disjointed teamwork, and heightened conflict to a weakened organizational culture.
Managing poor performance is, therefore, a skill that every leader needs to develop. If you’re looking for ways to ensure your employees performing at their best, this article discusses what poor employee performance is, its causes, how to identify it and how to respond to it.
What is poor employee performance?
Poor employee performance is commonly defined as when an employee’s work falls below the standards required for their role. It’s different from poor organizational performance in that poor employee performance is commonly localized to a select employee or group of employees.
It can be heavily detrimental to your organization and its culture — and, as such, it must be acted on. Identifying the root cause of poor employee performance is important so managers can lead a motivational and collaborative approach to responding to it, rather than just exclusively focusing on punishment. Managing poor performance, therefore, is a key leadership skill to have.
Examples of poor performance
Poor employee performance can come in all shapes and forms and is driven by the kind of work the employee does. Here are five examples that can be observed across most roles:
- Attendance issues: Constant lateness, missing shifts through sickness, or just not showing up can impact teamwork and productivity, adding stress onto other employees.
- Failing to accomplish tasks: Missing deadlines, working slowly, not following instructions, or not accomplishing goals can seriously impact organizational operations.
- Lack of attention to detail: When employees submit work with frequent errors, it can create extra work in correcting it. The company’s reputation will suffer if this poor work reaches customers or clients.
- Negative attitude: A negative attitude can mean that someone is disengaged with the work or showing signs of insubordination. This can impact teamwork and undermine management.
- Poor communication skills: Poor communication, whether it’s verbal, visual, face to face or via email, can create misunderstandings, mistakes, conflict and delays.
The causes of poor performance
When looking into an employee’s poor performance, it’s essential to spend time understanding the root causes of the issue. This will help you with a path forward. Here are five main causes:
- Lack of motivation: Employees who are demotivated or disinterested in their roles might lack the drive to perform at their best. This demotivation can be caused by personal factors, not being developed or chosen for promotion, being in the wrong job, or “quiet quitting”.
- Management issues: Ineffective leadership can be caused by a lack of feedback, poor communication, or employees not being given clear direction or expectations. This guidance and assistance are vital for all employees to be able to perform at their best.
- Personal issues: Even the best employee can be impacted by personal circumstances, which can have a devastating effect on their ability to perform well. These can include workplace stress, financial or relationship problems, conflict with someone at work, or health issues.
- Skill gaps: A lack of skills or knowledge will hinder employees’ ability to perform well or even manage basic tasks effectively. This can be caused by a lack of training and development, or through the employee’s own motivation or ability to retain the necessary information.
- Workplace conflict: Conflict at work can be very damaging for performance. It’s a huge distraction, meaning employees and managers are spending time resolving it, rather than focusing on their work output. It can also damage team dynamics and affect an organization’s reputation.
How to identify poor performance
When dealing with poor performance, leaders must ask themselves a few questions to effectively fix the issue. Here are some things to consider:
- Does the employee have a pattern of conflict with colleagues and supervisors?
- Does the employee have all the tools, training, expectations and direction needed to do their job?
- Has the employee’s demeanor changed in a way that might suggest they’re going through some health or personal issues?
- Have I provided enough feedback and recognition to the employee?
- Is there a similar pattern of poor performance in the team or organization?
How to address poor performance
Managing poor performance requires a strategic approach aimed at making long-lasting and meaningful improvements to the way someone works. Here is a list of 15 steps to help you address poor performance.
1. Determine the cause
Before meeting with the employee or jumping to conclusions, take some time to understand the root cause of why the employee appears to be underperforming.
This can involve looking at skill gaps, lack of motivation, or a misalignment between the role and what the employee is strong at. Consider external factors as well, such as recent company restructuring, policy changes, or whether the employee has been affected by something outside of work.
2. Meet with stakeholders
Early in the process, meet with stakeholders who might be able to offer insight into the employee and their performance. These can include supervisors, matrixed managers or HR. You might even consider asking familiar clients or other external stakeholders.
Meeting with other stakeholders helps you formulate well-rounded feedback and will also enable them to offer you support or advice in addressing the issue. They can also provide specific examples of performance issues.
3. Cross-check with the job description
As you work through gathering feedback, it’s vital that you map it out to the employee’s job description. This will help you measure their performance and make it specific.
Here, you’ll be able to understand what aspects of the role the employee is effective at, and the aspects they’re struggling to fulfill. You may also want to map out the employee’s performance against other standards, such as performance review rankings or competency guides, if you have them.
4. Be specific and concrete
The purpose of gathering all the facts related to the employee’s underperformance, and speaking to others who might provide insight, is so you can script out the feedback discussion and give the employee specific and concrete examples of what they’re doing.
Generic comments like “You need to improve your performance” won’t be helpful, can’t be tracked, and will lead to misunderstandings. Specific examples will ensure the employee understands what needs to improve and will be motivated to act on the feedback.
5. Create an action plan
Using the examples and feedback gathered, you’ll now need to create an action plan that the employee can use to improve their performance and be accountable for their own development. The action plan will list improvement areas and include what resources and support are needed, SMART goals, and deadlines for when performance needs to be improved by.
The action plan serves as an easy-to-digest and measurable roadmap that clarifies expectations and can also be used as a reference point, should formal action be needed in the future.
6. Meet privately
When the action plan is ready, arrange time to meet with the employee privately. A private meeting is important, as it removes embarrassment and conveys respect and understanding towards the employee involved.
A meeting behind closed doors also promotes constructive dialogue by removing distractions and external stressors. Ultimately, the meeting should be organized so that a room is available, and not rushed, allowing both parties to thoroughly discuss what needs to be addressed.
7. Explain the concerns
In the meeting, explain the feedback and share the perceptions and examples you’ve collected. Link the feedback to the job description and explain the importance of the improvements suggested. Set out the action plan for the employee and walk them through it, ensuring there are no misunderstandings.
You want to ensure the meeting is two-way, calm, and as motivating as possible. Adjourn the meeting if the employee becomes frustrated or upset.
8. Ask for feedback
As mentioned, the best performance review meetings are a two-way dialogue. Encourage the employee to share their side of the story and explain their performance.
When you present the action plan to them, ask for their feedback about it and listen to their concerns, addressing them or adapting the plan if it’s reasonable to do so. Similarly, ask the employee what they need from you, and be ready to respond to this feedback. Take what they say on board to show the employee they’re being listened to.
9. Offer resources and support
In the meeting, signpost the employee towards resources and support they might need to improve their performance. Include as many as you can on the action plan, but use the meeting to firm up what’s needed.
Although employees must be held accountable for improving their own performance, they’ll need support in knowing where to go to find help. Your role in enabling this is vital to encouraging them to improve their performance and feeling that there is hope for them to do so.
10. Offer rewards and recognition
An important part of improving performance is incentivizing employees to do so. Offering rewards and recognition is a great way to motivate employees to improve their work. This could involve sharing with them what financial or non-financial incentives are awarded for meeting and exceeding targets, or spontaneously rewarding them as their performance improves.
Publicly recognize the employees’ hard work to help them feel proud of the progress they’re making.
11. Implement the action plan
Have the employee sign off on the action plan, and implement it immediately to ensure the performance improvement process is fresh in the employee’s mind. Explain to them when it’s due to start, and what check-in and monitoring processes will be in place while they work through it.
The plan must have an end date too, at which time it will be reviewed. Guidance from when the action plan starts will ensure the employee is set up for success and knows what they are doing.
12. Monitor performance
As the employee works through their performance improvement action plan, monitoring their progress respectfully and gently will ensure they stay on the right path and any small issues are addressed before they become larger.
Monitoring can include observing their work, checking in with supervisors, and holding one-to-one meetings or appraisals. These check-ins also provide an opportunity for feedback and questions to be shared between the employee and their manager.
13. Follow up with the employee
At the end of the action plan period, follow up with the employee, and review how it went. Assuming the action plan contains SMART goals, these can be reviewed, and the employee’s performance clearly measured against established benchmarks.
Allow the employee time to tell you how the action plan went for them as well. Completing the action plan should be recognized, and follow-up chats scheduled with the employee to ensure they continue the good work.
14. Consider additional training
However the action plan went, evaluate the employee’s performance after the action plan is completed, and decide whether further training is needed. This might well be the case if performance improved, but some gaps still remain.
Training can be formal, such as workshops, or informal on-the-job training or mentoring. Seek the employee’s thoughts about what training they might want.
15. Formalize future concerns
If the employee’s performance has not improved significantly, or it deteriorates, then you will need to consult with your manager and HR and work out formal performance improvement steps.
Depending on your organization and its procedures, this might include a performance improvement plan, disciplinary action or even dismissal. Ensure all performance management communication and actions are kept, as these will need to be referred to in the case of escalation.
Final thoughts
Addressing poor performance is essential to help individuals perform to their true potential and to ensure the organization benefits from an engaged, happy and productive workforce. When addressing poor performance, it’s important to understand how it’s manifested at work and what causes it. This enables you to make strategic, long-term adjustments.
Identifying poor performance is essential to not let small challenges become larger ones, and addressing poor performance properly, using a variety of approaches, will have the best impact. Adopt this strategy when instances of poor performance occur, and you’ll be able to manage and leverage an effective team that will contribute positively to your organization.
This article is a complete update of an earlier version originally published in 2014.