I recently was asked to manage an employee and accepted. After a few months I began to realize the employee I was asked to manage was ill-equipped to fulfill the job role.
Managing ill-equipped or underperforming employee(s) is one of the most critical roles of any organization. Managers and supervisors often avoid this duty, why? Leadership development programs (if a leader was lucky enough to go through one) often do not provide the tools and training necessary to navigate the difficulty of managing an ill-equipped or underperforming employee. Too often managers put the onus of change on the underperforming employee, ultimately throwing up their hands to say, “There’s nothing else I can do.”
I learned from my experience, there is more that can be done. I recently read an article in Fast Company's Leadership Now segment called "5 steps to Manage an Underperforming Employee". Leaders can use these 5 steps as a potential road map when managing employees.
1. Investigate - The first thing to do when you perceive that an employee is underperforming compared to your expectations is to first understand as much of the situation as possible. In many cases, the expectations that you, the manager, are measuring performance have not been completely communicated and/or understood by the employee. Additionally, there may be other unknown factors in their work environment or personal life that are making it difficult for them to meet your expectations.
2. Communicate - Employee and manager expectations should be communicated clearly and regularly, so that there is no room for misinterpretation. One important note, communication is not only about the manager stating expectations, it’s also about the employee understanding those expectations. So when you are communicating your expectations, think about it as an agreement.
3. Rethink - As a manager rethink how to manage an employee. What does that employee need to be successful? What skills can be developed to help them meet expectations? What unique qualities can be highlighted or enhanced to boost effective productivity? Thinking about this employee in a new way may provide a spark for you and for them.
4. Agree - When the employee completely understands expectations and how they have been falling short of those expectations, make an agreement for how and when these issues will be improved. Once the employee has agreed to the time-bound measures of success, then work with the employee to identify what the employee will need to do to reach these goals. Hold 1:1 checkpoints to see if the employee has improved to the level that they agreed to. It is critical to stay in regular communication with the employee. The manager will need to determine whether the employee is actually improving and whether the plan needs to be adjusted.
5. Let Go - If you get to this point, one of the most important things a manager can do is appropriately terminate the employment of an ill-equipped or underperforming employee. Do not allow for this employee to move from one department to the next putting the burden on another manager forcing them to say “There’s nothing else I can do.”
