How to improve the performance of at-risk employees
If you have a staff member who is not performing to expectations, whose approach to the task is slipping, ineffective, even counterproductive, you need help that employee get back on track to improve performance and increase productivity. The following process of rehabilitation will help to isolate the cause of, and generate a possible solution to, the problem of this at-risk employee...
1. Ensure that action is necessary.
Everyone has an occasional off-day, but at-risk employees are those whose performance has been observed on several occasions to be in a state of decline. When you are certain you have identified at-risk performance, it is time to gather accurate information from a wide variety of sources.
2. Gather the facts.
Your information search should involve colleagues, supervisors, and others who have regular contact with the at-risk employee. The perceptions of those people can be compared with your own, thereby helping you to make a more informed judgement. Determine the relationship of this information to job performance, enabling you to omit information not specifically related to the issues under investigation. These information-gathering meetings will clear the air, establish the facts, help decide on possible actions, and suggest the types of assistance that can be offered.
3. Decide on appropriate actions - beforehand.
You should now have accumulated quality information to help you develop a plan of action. Remember, all this is done before you meet with the employee. The plan will list ‘who’ is to do ‘what’ by ‘when’ and ‘how’, and should consider the following strategies:
- Make goals and standards specific and clear in terms of what you expect and how you expect it. Spell this out clearly, in writing if necessary, so that the employee can’t claim later that your requirements were vague.
- Investigate ways of providing more challenging work. It’s often the case that at-risk employees are simply bored. If you can generate more challenging tasks, you may create a complete turnaround in that employee’s attitude to work.
- Plan a procedure to monitor the at-risk employee’s performance. How will you be able to get immediate feedback if there is no improvement or a significant lapse in performance? If the set goals haven’t been met, why is this? A lack of immediate response from you will diminish your credibility and you’ll lose whatever influence you might have.
