Poor Employee Performance: 7 Proven Strategies to Address It

Written by Kellie Rondon | Dec 11, 2024 9:56:42 PM

As uncomfortable as it can be to tell an employee they’re not measuring up to performance expectations, it’s a manager’s job to have these difficult – yet potentially formative – discussions.

There are right and wrong ways to handle employee underperformance. Below are seven tips that will help you guide employees toward job performance that benefits both workers and your company.

1. Don’t Delay

Performance problems seldom, if ever, get better on their own. If an employee’s quality of work is slipping, address it right away. Even if an employee’s formal review is coming up soon, don’t wait. Initiate a one-on-one meeting sooner rather than later.

Let the employee know you’d like to talk about how they’re doing at work and how they’re feeling about the job.

2. Consider Your Role in the Employee’s Underperformance

Recognizing that studies show managers often contribute to an employee’s performance dip – as Axcet’s post on set-up-to-fail syndrome describes – take time to reflect on yourself and the company before meeting with the employee.

Questions to Consider

Have I overloaded the employee with work?
Are the targets set for this employee unrealistic?
Have we provided the employee with the training and resources needed for success in the position?
Have I clearly defined the expectations and made sure the employee understands them?
Have I been available to the employee when they’ve needed my guidance?
Am I micromanaging?
Am I paying attention only to evidence that supports my assumptions about this employee?
If I sat in the employee’s chair, would I feel like I was in a no-win situation?

If your honest appraisal reveals that you may be setting the employee up to fail, figure out how you can help and not stand in the way of the employee’s success. Approach the employee with candor, confirming that you recognize your role in the issue and committing to making personal changes in your approach.

3. Put Performance Concerns in Writing

You’ve heard it before: document, document, document. As Axcet’s 8 Steps to High-Value Employee Performance Documentation explains, documenting employee performance issues has important business and compliance purposes. Documenting also ensures your message is clear and that the employee has received notice of any related consequences. Memories are fallible. Effective documentation improves communication around expectations and can, ultimately, aid the employee's success.

A brief description of the performance issues you’ve observed and a note that you’ve scheduled a meeting to talk with the employee about your concerns is important, even at this early stage. Besides protecting the company from legal action, it demonstrates that the company willingly takes steps to help workers advance.

After you’ve met with the employee, update the documentation with notes on topics discussed and agreed-upon action steps. Send a concise and objective email that summarizes your conversation, your acknowledgments and the agreed-upon next steps. Take care to not add anything new to that email, which is meant to document the conversation, not to extend it. The neutral, clear and respectful tone you maintained in person should be conveyed in the mail communication, as well.

4. Listen Well

Come to the discussion with an attitude of care and coaching. Work to do more listening than talking. Ask questions. This will help you to find out if your employee is aware of their poor performance and determine whether and how you and the company can help.

Questions to consider

I’ve seen some differences in your work lately. How are you feeling about the job?
Are you sensing differences in your work over the last few weeks or months?
Is there anything about your responsibilities that doesn’t seem clear?
Are there goals or responsibilities that seem unrealistic?
Are you experiencing concerns or issues that may be contributing to your performance?
Do you have the support, training and resources you need to succeed in your role? If not, what do you need?

Developing employees takes time, and the learning curve can differ greatly between employees. Focus on a conversation that helps the employee understand where you’re seeing a decline in work quality while also clarifying that you support the employee and want to be a partner in performance improvement.

5. Maintain a Neutral Tone

A respectful, professional approach is always appropriate, but sometimes personal compatibility can make that difficult. Push through those differences. Not doing so could lead to resentment or, worse, legal issues.

Be careful to separate the work from the individual, being clear about the impact of the poor performance on the organization without steering into personal criticisms.

6. Be Specific

Give the employee concrete examples of the actions or behaviors that have raised performance concerns. If the issue is creating negative impacts on the company, customers or colleagues, explain those effects and have data or examples to back it up. Doing this will help you and the worker establish and agree that there is a problem. You can then spend the rest of the meeting coming up with solutions together.

7. Take Advantage of Available Resources

Correcting performance problems generally is a more complex and nuanced process than just getting an employee to “work harder” or “put in more effort.” Simply giving more frequent feedback boosts the chances of a positive outcome, as does helping the employee find their own solutions to the issues that are causing declining performance.

Take advantage of the multitude of other options that may be available to your company, too, including training, redefining or re-assigning job roles, providing additional resources or identifying a mentor.

Keep in mind that performance issues can stem from many sources. Be empathetic in your conversations with underperforming employees, while still being proactive, direct and clear.

Partner with Experts to Address Poor Employee Performance

Dealing with poor employee performance can be challenging, but you don’t have to navigate it alone. Axcet’s talent management consultants specialize in helping businesses address performance issues effectively and compassionately.

By partnering with us, you can ensure every conversation supports your employees' growth while aligning with your company’s goals.

Schedule a consultation with us today to learn how we can help.

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