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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.

4. Approach the staff member.

Raise the matter with the staff member, making your concerns quite clear and indicating that you both need to meet. The discussion is not whether a meeting will occur, but when. Make an appropriate time.

5. Hold a meeting and get right to the point.

Your meeting should cover the following points:

  • Express your disappointment in your staff member’s recent lacklustre performance. Play on the employee’s pride by revealing that your esteem has not been lost as a result.
  • State the facts as you see them.
  • Encourage a response. Be prepared to listen to any reasons for poor or declining performance.
  • Create peer pressure by stressing how the employee is letting colleagues down, forcing them to work harder to carry an additional share of the workload.
  • Offer assistance and present your draft action plan. Agree on the actions to be taken. You’ve done the necessary research, you’ve done all you can to put in place a set of procedures to help the at-risk employee improve, so it’s now time to assert your position and insist on results in the future.
  • Ensure the employee is aware of the consequences of continued poor performance.
  • End the meeting on an optimistic note.
  • File a record of the meeting and actions taken.

6. Set follow-up procedures in place.

At-risk employees can not be left too long without frequent reviews. Regular follow-up meetings should be a feature of the rescue package, thereby underscoring the priority you have placed on this matter. You might also decide to appoint a mentor or ‘buddy’ to provide additional support in the workplace.

7. Meet the challenge.

According to consultant Gary Bielous, improving marginal performers is no easy task. ‘Yet,’ he says, ‘it is our responsibility to train or retrain our personnel properly and ensure everyone on the team is contributing towards the department’s goals. This is where coaching comes into play. Effective coaching requires a knowledge of the subject, an ability to communicate it, a patience that will instill trust, and a will to follow up. As well, it requires courage - courage to be able to take the underachiever and ‘mould’ him or her into someone more productive. This shaping can only breed success throughout the department and ultimately the organisation.’