Leadership

It's not that easy!

The time has come.  There’s no more denying it.  You have put up with it for way too long.  It’s finally starting to hurt your team, your results and your customers.  You have finally come to the conclusion that holding out hope is a fruitless process.  It’s time to…GULP… fire that under-performing employee and get rid of your problems once and for all!

Before you can “whack” Suzy Q you head to HR, as every good manager does.   And the conversation probably goes a little something like this…

HR has thrown a flag on your play to have Suzy Q removed.  You realize you have to go back and put up with her for at least another 30 days.  A lot of managers have found themselves in this same predicament at one time or another.  You want Suzy Q off your team.  You have put up with her for long enough.  And while that may be true, you need to show that you have given Suzy Q every opportunity to turn her performance and behavior around.   After all, its only fair to give Suzy Q that chance.

Many managers have a tendency to ignore poor performance.  Sometimes they do it because of excellent performance in another other area.  Sometimes they do it because they don’t want to confront the employee.  Sometimes they do it because the don’t know what to do or how to do it.  And sometimes they do it because dealing with a poor performer is better than dealing with no one at all.

When we ignore poor performance we are actually endorsing that performance. We are telling that employee and others on our team that level of performance is acceptable.  The minute you see performance starting to slip you owe it to your employee, yourself and your team to take the necessary steps to turn it around.  So what do you do?  Well the following coaching behaviors are a good place to start.  You can use any of these skills or a combination of these skills.  When it comes to coaching a one size fits all approach won’t work.  The key is to start somewhere.

1. Reiterate the expectation.

Before you can address a performance problem you must make sure the employee actually knows the expectation.  When discussing the expectation with the employee, talk about the behaviors that are necessary to meet or exceed the expectation.  HR wants to know that this step has been accomplished before the “whacking” can begin.

2. Focus on behavior.

Now that you have reiterated the expectation and discussed appropriate behaviors, you want to look for the absence or presence of those behaviors.  The key here is to focus on what you see the employee doing or not doing in regards to the expectations, not the person.

3. Point out the positive.

When you see or hear the employee meeting or exceeding the expectation, let them know.  People learn what to do and what a good job looks like when they receive positive reinforcement.  When pointing out the positive be sure to be specific, focus on the behaviors and then discuss the impact of those behaviors.

4. Set goals.

Goal setting is a powerful way to include the employee in the process of fixing the problem.  After all you aren’t the one with the problem, the employee is.  And you can’t fix it, the employee has to.  Follow the SMART goal setting process for the expectations or goals that the employee is not meeting.  Make sure the employee develops a specific action plan and discuss what you will do to support them.

5. Celebrate progress.

Even if the employee hasn’t achieved the goals or met the expectation yet, don’t wait to give them feedback.  Celebrate the progress, they are making towards the goals and exceeding the expectations.  This will add fuel to their fire.  Don’t wait for perfection.

6. Coach them on the fly.

Some of us are guilty of having a meeting, setting goals with an employee and then putting it to the side for the 30 or 60 day waiting period.  Well, out of sight, out of mind.  You have got to follow-up with that employee.  You can coach them on the fly in 2 – 5 minutes.  Focus your coaching questions around their goals.  Discuss what’s working for them, what challenges they are faced with and what they will do to address those challenges.  Help the employee discover what they need to do for themselves.

7. Have a coaching intervention.

A coaching intervention is something you want to do before the verbal and written warnings.  Not only do you want to give the employee a chance to change their behavior, you also want to show HR you have taken the necessary steps to address the performance.  A coaching intervention is a formal meeting to reiterate the expectations, focus on the behavior, outline the consequences and develop an action plan.  That way when you get to the verbal warning it won’t be a surprise to the employee.  It also makes that process so much easier because you have already done most of the work.  Often times I have found that I didn’t even need to escalate things to a verbal warning.  Some people just need to know the consequences of their behavior and that they will in fact be held accountable.

8. Hold them accountable.

I love that old saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink the water.”  Or something like that.  As a coach, there is only so much you can do to help your employees performance.  Ultimately you must hold them accountable for that performance and their choices.  This means pointing out the positive if they are making progress towards or have achieved their goals and setting new goals.  It also means taking the next step in your progressive disciplinary process if the behavior has not changed.

Don’t wait for that last straw that breaks the camels back.  Coach your employees every day.  Have honest conversations about their performance.  Help them see and achieve their potential.  Most of all, be prepared the next time you go to HR and show them that you have done everything you can to help Suzy Q.  And go to sleep at night knowing that ultimately, it’s up to Suzy Q if she wants the job or not.

What other advice would you give a manager before they can “whack” that employee?  We would love to hear from you!

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