How to Turn a Poor Performer Around
“What can I do to get an employee to improve her or her performance?” It’s a typical question asked by employers about a staff member whose performance has deteriorated over the past year. For a five-step approach to a solution, continue reading.
How to Turn a Poor Performer Around
An employer who is troubled because an employee’s “not doing her job up to par” asks this question:
Q. This employee is dragging her feet, just not doing her job up to par. Other employees are having to pick up some of the load and they’re unhappy about it. She’s been with us 15 years and until about a year ago she was doing good work. But in the last year she’s really been slacking off. I’ve talked to her about this but it hasn’t done any good. What can I do to get her to do her job like she used to?
A. What’s kept you from knowing the cause or causes of her poor performance? You say you’ve talked to her. But have you talked with her? Have you clearly described to her the way or ways her performance is sub-par? Have you asked her to explain what she feels or believes is causing the change? Has she developed poor health challenges? Is she on medication that affects her performance? Is she having personal pressures in her private life that preoccupy her at work?
Until you have answers to questions like these, until you listen to her, you can’t hope to make the best decisions about her future with you.
- Document in writing her under-performance. Write down, with exact or approximate dates, specific examples and descriptions of her behavior that is sub-par or where she is falling short of expected performance.
- Meet with her in a friendly, non-confrontational manner. Tell her clearly what you have written out about her performance. Encourage her to talk with you about what she believes or feels could be causing this.
