John’s late again. Sarah wasn’t prepared for the meeting. Barry does the minimum, and the rest of us pick up the slack. Sound familiar? Anyone who has been in a supervisory or management position for any length of time has probably encountered his or her share of employees who consume disproportionate amounts of time, produce poor results, or act in ways that don’t support the organization or its objectives.

Is the employee to blame? The organization? You? Without a little research, it may be hard to see the whole picture. Worse still, if you are not fully informed, you may respond to a performance problem with the wrong solution. By answering a few questions before taking action, you can obtain the information you will need to appropriately address the root cause or causes of an employee’s poor performance.

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THAT EMPLOYEE?

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW 1. Does the employee understand what his or her job is? How do

you know? 2. Does the employee fully understand your expectations in

terms of quality and quantity of work? Expected attitude? Professional behavior? How do you know?

3. Has the employee performed up to your

expectations in the past? If yes, what do you think has caused the dip in performance?

4. Have the organization’s expectations

recently changed? 5. Does the employee have the skill and

ability to do the job? 6. Is the employee overqualified? Under

qualified? 7. Does the employee know that there is a

problem? 8. Are you or others in the organization contributing to the

problem? With the detective work behind you and armed with answers, you will be in a better position to craft an appropriate plan to address challenging employee behavior. For more information about employee performance management and leadership skills training, contact Business Training Works at info@businesstrainingworks.com or call us at 301-934-3250.

BEFORE YOUADDRESS

EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE,

YOU NEED TO ASK A LOT OF

QUESTIONS.