5 Steps to Take When Your Employee Isn’t Working Out

 

Have you hired an employee that just isn’t working out? You’ve noticed consistent underperformance, and you don’t know how to move forward.

Here are five steps you should take to handle a consistently underperforming employee: 

 

1. Discuss Expectations

 Start by scheduling a private, one-on-one meeting with the employee in question. Don’t delegate the meeting to someone beneath you. You’ll risk sending the message that you don’t consider the matter important enough for a personal discussion. At that point, your employee might pass the conversation off as the whim of lower management. Make it clear this order is coming from the top.

Once in the meeting, be upfront. Tell your employee you’ve noticed underperformance and you’d like to see improvement. Begin your conversation by going through a detailed list of expectations. You might be surprised to find how much your employee doesn’t know. 

 

2. Create an Improvement Plan

Next, create a roadmap to improvement. You don’t want this meeting to be a slap on the wrist. You’ve noticed consistent performance issues, and this needs to be remedied as soon as possible. Come up with a detailed list of clear, manageable goals that will push your employee toward boosted productivity and stronger performance ratings. 

 

3. Provide Constructive Feedback

Throughout your meeting, be positive. Give your employee an opportunity to relearn expectations, set goals, and hear constructive feedback before passing judgement on their skill or character. Many employees struggle during the first few weeks in a new place. 

 

4. Consider External Factors

Somewhere during your meeting, it’s important that you ask your employee what, if anything, is contributing to poor work performance. There could be a temporary situation outside the workplace, such as relationship bumps, switching homes, a new child, or family illness.

If your employee has a legitimate reason to be out-of-focus at work, consider giving them some paid time-off. This gift would come with the expectation that sharp focus will return after the break.

If you can’t offer vacation time, make it clear that you understand and hope performance will improve once the situation is remedied. After two or three weeks, if the employee still hasn’t improved, it might be time to have a more serious conversation. 

 

5. Be Prepared for Termination

Unfortunately, your employee may not improve, even after you’ve taken these steps. In that case, be prepared for termination. It’s a difficult and unavoidable part of being a manager, but your work environment and bottom line will improve because of it. 

Contact an Experienced Recruiter to Learn More

At The Reserves Network, we pride ourselves in providing qualified, effective employees from the start. Contact our experienced team for assistance in the hiring process.