Poor Employee Performance: How to Deal

KEEP WRITTEN RECORDS: "Document !Document! Document!" Keep a record of periodic performance reviews, incidents of unsatisfactory performance, conferences where warnings are administered or terminations are announced. Issue warnings and terminations in writing as well as verbally. When dealing with a particularly unstable or vindictive employee, request that the employee sign a written summary of a warning or termination conference to attest to the fact that the summary is accurate (not that they necessarily agree with it).

DOCUMENTATION SERVES TWO PURPOSES: First, it insures that the message has been conveyed. All people's memories of conversations are distorted by emotions and expectations. So it is quite likely that an employee coming out of an emotional warning conference will have a faulty memory of the specifics, unless the memory is aided by a written summary. Second, documentation provides insurance for post-termination confrontations. If the employee challenges a firing, either before an owner, a board, or an unemployment claims officer, claiming that adequate warning was not given or that the firing was groundless, a written record of the entire process should provide sufficient evidence to counter these claims.

KEEP EMPLOYEES INFORMED: A means of avoiding potential confrontation is for the manager is to keep his boss up-to-date on the situation. For a manager who is also the owner of the business, of course, there is no one else to turn to. However, if the executive director answers to a board, owner, or sponsoring group, the appropriate party should be consulted as soon as the possibility of a termination arises. The privacy of the employee must be respected, so prior consultations should be made in confidence. One executive director kept the board's chairperson advised, rather than discussing the situation with the full board. When the terminated employee appealed to the board, the chairperson was able to verify the director's account of the process.

SUGARCOATING A WARNING: Since warning conferences can become quite emotional, key messages sometimes fail to get communicated. Sometimes managers and directors try too hard to cushion the blow by sugarcoating the warning. In one instance a manager went to such lengths emphasizing the employee's strong points in addition to the problem areas that the employee left the meeting unaware that he was close to being fired. A second message is often necessary clearly outlining the specific steps the employee needs to take to meet the manager's expectations. To avoid miscommunication, have the employee state his interpretation of the manager's message to be sure he has an accurate understanding of it.

Copyright AE Schwartz & Associates All rights reserved. For additional presentation materials and resources: ReadySetPresent and for a Free listing as a Trainer, Consultant, Speaker, Vendor/Organization: TrainingConsortium

CEO, A.E. Schwartz & Associates, Boston, MA., a comprehensive organization which offers over 40 skills based management training programs. Mr. Schwartz conducts over 150 programs annually for clients in industry, research, technology, government, Fortune 100/500 companies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. He is often found at conferences as a key note presenter and/or facilitator. His style is fast-paced, participatory, practical, and humorous. He has authored over 65 books and products, and taught/lectured at over a dozen colleges and universities throughout the United States.

---

Teaching Large Companies To Think Like The Little Guys

Q: I am an executive at a large company and... Read More

Enhancing the Motivational Climate of Your Workplace

It has been well documented that employees' productivity and job... Read More

Identifying Candidates for Leadership

A critical task in the succession planning process of any... Read More

ISO 9001, What Next?

The overriding goal of ISO-14000. (History 1995)As ISO-9000 becomes a... Read More

Performance Expectations - 5 Tips and 5 Questions

People want to understand their role - they want to... Read More

The Power of Positive Communication

Communication is the key to your success at work, at... Read More

Creativity and Innovation Management ? Hierarchies

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Management & Leadership - Doing it right in the 21st Century

The Old Way ? Command and ControlAlthough workplaces and management... Read More

Knowledge Management - Lessons Learned and How To Identify Them

Many organisations use the term "lessons learned" to describe the... Read More

Well-Defined Processes ? How to Create

Interested in learning how to reduce development time, save money... Read More

CEO: The Key To Fix ingThe Marketing/Sales Collaboration Problem

We all know that achieving better alignment, synergy and cooperation... Read More

Delegation: When to Delegate, Who to Delegate to

There are some very simple guides for delegation.Most people delegate... Read More

Project Management - Its Just A Button

I once worked with a developer who showed up at... Read More

Make It Easy to Reply - Voice Mail That Works

If you are like most business people, voice mail has... Read More

How To Decrease Profits Without Really Trying

Hurting your sales efforts can be accomplished easily with the... Read More

Its All About The Customers, Baby

If you want to ensure a steady stream of customers... Read More

The Dark Side of Help Desk SLAs

You just signed a Help Desk Service Level Agreement (SLA)... Read More

Loyalty, Motivation And Work-Life Balance

Managers who aren't loyal to their people can't expect loyalty... Read More

5 Questions Great Managers Ask (and they arent hard!)

However hard we try, we seem to make life more... Read More

When Change Is In the Wind...Heads Up!

In these days of takeovers and mergers, of downsizings and... Read More

Leaders Versus Cheerleaders

Everyone wants to describe themselves as a leader. Everyday, new... Read More

Develop Your People and Make More Money

What is the no. 1 asset in your business beside... Read More

Basic Management Skills

Recent studies have shown that industrial supervisors are working at... Read More

Difficult Employees-Poor Performance - 10 Tips for Dealing with it in the Workplace

I personally struggle with the term 'managing people' - because... Read More

Book Summary: Mind Your Own Business

A maverick is an independent person who will not go... Read More

Regaining Control - Nine Steps for New Managers

My client had faced the same challenge, which was frustrating... Read More

Why Soft Skills?

The industrial age is over. Organizations still stuck in the... Read More

Four Ways To Make the Case For Outsourcing

How do you convert outsourcing leads into clients? You may... Read More

Business Fit

I have been an entrepreneur for over twenty years and... Read More

Manufacturing Capacity as a Commodity

Excess capacity in an automobile plant at Ford, Chrysler, Toyota,... Read More

Performance Reviews That Actually Improve Performance

Employee performance reviews are one of the most dreaded tasks... Read More

Managing Change - Get it Right

In any event, getting the process right is a vital... Read More

When Being A Facilitator DOESNT Help

I talked with a group of internal consultants last week... Read More