11 ways to help your underperforming employees
The employee lifecycle goes through lots of ebbs and flows and HR leaders need to be mindful of employees who are going through a period of underperforming to make sure they don’t continue the behaviour for an extended period. An article by HRD's Coann Labitoria shares 11 tips for helping underperforming employees.
- Minimise the risk of continued poor output and manage underperformance as soon as you have uncovered it.
- Immediately establish the reason behind the underperformance so it can be dealt with appropriately. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach for dealing with underperforming employees.
- Resolving a performance issue can be as simple as setting clear goals with the employee. The employer should work with the employee to create a positive shift in their performance and output.
- Remind the employee of their role and its expectations to renew their motivations.
- Maintain confidentiality. Addressing an underperformance problem to colleagues is reasonable but avoid releasing details especially information that may be misused or embarrassing for the employee.
- Have regular scheduled meetings to evaluate if employee productivity is improving. This is also a chance for the employee to give feedback so you can assess what tools you need to provide them with for better output.
- Document everything. Documenting allows you to keep track of the progress and safeguards you if any legal disputes arise.
- Create a mentor-mentee relationship with another employee within the company. This encourages them to be more engaged with others in the team.
- If the under-performance is due to personal issues, offer time of work so the employee can focus on the offsite problem.
- When there are visible improvements in the employees output, employers should take the chance to reward the employee.
- Encouraging a healthy work-life balance minimises the risk of underperformance and demotivation.
