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Most people are clear that managing staff or employee poor performance is difficult, but many wonder how it relates to everything else in the organisation, including your performers.
There are a number of reasons to manage employee performance.
It’s as important in a small business as it is in any other business.
Managing performance will impact your business – for the better.
Here are our 5 reasons to manage poor performance.
#1. It sets the scene
Managing employee (poor) performance will set the standards and scene for other employees.
Staff may be underperforming for a number of reasons – work-related or personal.
Often other staff will suffer the consequences of poor performers, as they pick up the workload and make excuses for others.
Underperforming staff might show in different ways, not doing work at all, poor quality of work, not meeting deadlines or poor attitude and below the line behaviours.
Picking up another employee’s work will increase stress levels and decrease satisfaction.
By managing underperformance you’ll set the scene for others and this will go a long way to improving culture.
When staff see that other employees can ‘getaway with’ not doing performing they might react differently.
Some will pick up the additional work, review and edit the underperforming staff member’s work, make a resolve themselves to drop their own performance or develop negative attitudes and behaviours.
If you start to tackle below the line behaviours in the workplace you’ll create a good culture by drawing a line in the sand.
Start with having everyone attend the same training, building a common language and empowering staff to call out bad behaviours.
If you don’t manage employee performance, team productivity and organisational outcomes will suffer.
I’ve often asked the question of managers, ‘will the situation improve if you don’t do anything?’
Their answer is always no, but it doesn’t mean the process is easy.
Managing performance through training and support, performance improvement plans or going through more formal HR performance management processes or warnings will either improve staff performance or manage the staff member out. Read more here for our tips and tricks to getting this right!
Similar to improving culture, a manager or small business owner who manages staff performance will build trust from other staff members.
This is because they’ll see something being done.
Be mindful of confidentiality and not shout from the rooftops that you’re managing Sally’s performance.
Where staff have raised an issue it’s ok to tell them you’re managing it.
Building trust leads to a close knit team and more loyalty.
Staff who feel valued and connected to the business mission and values stay longer and are happier and more productive at work.
By showing you are serious about performance and outcomes you’ll send a good message to high performing staff, they’ll feel more valued rather than devalued by picking up other people’s slack.
Human Resources for Consulting Small and Medium Businesses in Adelaide and South Australia. Simple, and tailored advice, what you need and not what you don’t.