The best people managers address employee performance issues. They don’t ignore them.
The best people managers address employee performance. In a team situation, strong performers don’t like to be teamed up with a slacker. A slacker is someone who doesn’t contribute or “slacks off”. Having a low contributor or slacker as part of the team, can impact team performance, cause resentment and may impact the performance of their peers.
Being a people manager isn’t for everyone. An employee with performance issues will need to hear from their manager. For the good of the team and the organization, a manager needs to address any areas where job expectations are not being met by an employee.
The best people managers address employee performance issues. No one likes to be on a team with a slacker.
The manager will probably build a carefully laid out plan to address performance. The performance improvement plan (PIP) should include SMART goals and a timeframe. The manager and employee both need to review and acknowledge the PIP at a meeting. Ideally, the employee will sign the PIP at the meeting. And then the manager will too. First meeting down.
A good manager will identify and address performance issues with their employees.
During the performance improvement plan timeframe the manager and employee meet to discuss progress. Together, they will document how everything is going. The goal of the manager is to help the employee get on the path to meeting performance expectations. The employee may decide not to comply with the plan. Or they may indicate they are unwilling to adhere to the timeline. However, if the employee does sign the PIP, the employee is confirming and acknowledging that their employment is contingent on improving. Failure to comply, may result in termination.
In all circumstances, it is critical to take a professional approach.
Ultimately, a mangers job is to handle issues and address any circumstances that arise. A manager should deal with employees fairly. In order to be successful, a manager needs to clearly communicate with key stakeholders, including employees, vendors, HR and leadership. That might sound easy, but for some, it will not be easy to do. You can learn a lot about management, by taking classes, attending seminars, obtaining certificates and enrolling in a formal program. But, after that, the keys to being a good manager are to listen, to observe, to share, to ask questions, mentor, encourage and to support a staff.
Know when to ask for help to address employee performance.
As an employee or manager if there are issues that are beyond your scope and knowledge, you need to inform others. You need to ask others in the organization for help. If you go to the right people, their job is to appropriately support any circumstances that you need support for.
Being a good manager goes beyond interviewing candidates, doing performance reviews, and giving out promotions and raises.
Part of being a great people manager is recognizing and addressing employee performance. It is critical to the success of your team that each employee is meeting the performance standards. Specific tasks and responsibilities are outlined in the job description for each employee role. During the annual review process all employees should receive feedback on their performance. That includes both high performing employees and employees that don’t meet expectations. Learn more with High Performers Need Feedback Too, from the Harvard Business Review. This is a great read.
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