COACHING AN UNDERPERFORMER

Can this employee be saved?

Managers tend to think they know what the problem is. Speculation is dangerous.

The real reasons for underperformance often need to be uncovered.

By Kimberly Paterson, CEC

Every organization has one. It’s the under-performer who consistently falls short of expectations. Whether it’s poor communication skills, consistently missing deadlines, passive about problem solving or a bad attitude, this employee isn’t living up to the standards you set for your team.

The challenge is what to do about it. For some employees, the action you need to take is obvious. Things get tricky when the underperformer falls somewhere between being bad enough at their job to fire and good enough to be a valued contributor.

A smart place to start is an honest assessment of where you stand. Have you already concluded that the employee is the wrong person for the job, but you’re reluctant to act because you like the person or it’s hard to hire and train a replacement? Or do you believe that with the right coaching, there’s a reasonable chance that the employee will improve?

If you have little hope the employee will make it, don’t waste time going through the motions of trying to fix the situation. It’s not fair to the employee, the team or you. There is ample research showing that a manager’s lack of belief in an employee’s abilities will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Finding the root cause

If you opt to work on improving performance, the first step is getting clear on what you see as problematic. Stay focused on facts and behaviors, not subjective things like attitude. The second step is understanding what could be driving poor performance. Factors to consider include:

• Does the employee have the needed skills? The employee may not have the technical skills required for the role. Perhaps they have the technical training but lack confidence or the time management skills required.
• Are the job expectations clear? Many managers have clear expectations but don’t take the time to communicate them with sufficient clarity and consistency. They assume that professional standards of behavior, like meeting deadlines and following company procedures, are common sense and shouldn’t have to be explained.
• Is the problem the environment or the individual? When we analyze people, we tend to overestimate the effect of a person’s disposition and capabilities and underestimate the impact of the specific conditions under which that person is operating (the fundamental attribution error). A person may have trouble getting their work done because they’re constantly being interrupted by a senior staff member, not because they’re not working hard.
• Is the role aligned with the person’s strengths and interests? A person may have the technical skills to do the job, but if they don’t have the opportunity to use their strengths and do enough work that interests them, they will lose motivation. For example, an employee who loves the analytical part of his work but doesn’t like talking to clients will quickly lose interest if the job is attending client meetings. The employee who loves variety will soon become bored in a job that’s primarily repetitive tasks.
• Is the culture a good fit for the employee? It’s important to recognize that one person’s ideal working environment is another’s nightmare. For example, some people thrive in a fast-paced, demanding environment, while others crumble under pressure. Some people need freedom and flexibility to do their best work; others want structure. When it comes to a supportive work environment, one size does not fit all.
• Is there a mismatch between employee expectations and the reality of the job? Young people coming into the workplace often expect to advance quickly. If they’re not continuously learning new skills and seeing clear paths for career development, they can lose interest in the role. Other employees may become disenchanted if they feel pressured to take on more responsibility than is comfortable for them.
• Are there personal issues? Be alert to challenges the person may be experiencing outside of work that could impact their ability to stay focused.
• What role could you be playing in the problem? There is a tendency for managers to place the blame for the “what’s not working” on the employee rather than on themselves. The truth is that issues are never exclusively one person’s fault.
  Consider what role you may be playing. Does the person make you uncomfortable, and you avoid spending time with them? Does the employee need more support from you than you have time to give? Are you projecting your lack of confidence in the person, which is leading them to make more mistakes?

Increasing the odds of success

Managers tend to think they know what the problem is. Speculation is dangerous. The real reasons for underperformance often need to be uncovered. Be clear in your mind about the behaviors that need to change but maintain an open mind regarding the root causes.

• Get the employee’s perspective. Be specific and direct in communicating the problem, then shift into inquiry mode. Talk less, listen more. The truth is, we can’t learn if we’re doing all the talking. Ask questions and care about their answers. How you listen will make a huge difference in the quality of information you receive. The better listener you are, the more likely people are to open up and get to the heart of the issue.
  For many leaders, listening is a challenge. Listening is a passive, compliant act, something other people do. Leaders like to control the conversation. Many find it painful to fully concentrate on a single task for any length of time. It takes time, effort and patience to sort through the noise in a conversation and get to the actual message.
• Ensure that expectations are clear. Expectations may be obvious in the manager’s mind but are unclear for the employee. Stipulating exactly what the employee must accomplish in the job will help them identify what they should be striving for. Check for understanding to validate that your message got through.
  Understanding expectations is a two-way process. Explore what the employee has been hoping for from their job and the organization to see if it is realistic. For example, were they expecting more responsibility, learning opportunities, and chances for advancement or a less pressured work environment?
      If there is a mismatch between what the employee wants and what you can offer, this is an excellent time to discuss whether they can adjust their expectations.
• Focus on the forward action. When the topic is improving performance, most managers come to the discussion armed with examples of where the employee went wrong. The problem with this approach is that these acts happened in the past. The employee can’t change what happened, and that’s an uncomfortable feeling.
  When they fear they may have lost esteem in your eyes, that fear can be so potent that it feels like a threat to one’s survival. Survival mode isn’t a conducive environment for a productive conversation about change.
      Don’t let the discussion stay in a negative place by dwelling on or debating the past. Quickly shift the energy of the conversation to what needs to happen going forward and collaborate with the employee about a mutually agreeable course of action. Make sure the plan is specific about what needs to happen, when and how you’ll measure progress. The more the employee owns the plan you agree to, the better the odds of success.

• Monitor progress. One of the common reasons performance improvement efforts fail is lack of follow-through. Come to an agreement with the employee about how frequently you’ll check in on progress. The delicate balance is keeping the issues on the radar and showing your support without making the employee feel micromanaged or that you don’t trust them.