How to Manage Underperforming Employees
One of the most critical new managers’ challenges is faced when trying to manage employees. Out of which, the even more crucial aspect of the challenge is managing underperforming employees.
Managers have to manage their teams and help them grow while keeping them motivated and engaged. To do this, managers need to know how to identify potential problems in their team and address those problems effectively.
Managing employees is a skill that takes time and patience. New managers need to know how to identify if their team members are struggling or not. They should also learn how they can help them improve their performance.
This article will discuss how new managers can identify potential problems in their team, address those problems effectively, and get back on track with the team’s performance.
Understanding Employee Underperformance
Underperformance is when an employee does not meet their goals and does not perform to the best of their ability. It can be a complex topic to address at work, and is part of a new managers’ challenges, often struggling with how to approach it.
Underperformance can be caused by a lack of skill, motivation, or a poor work environment. There are also many reasons employees underperform and need help, like a lack of support from management or coworkers.
Managers can find it challenging to figure out what they should do next when an employee underperforms. They might feel like they have tried everything, but there isn’t any performance improvement. This article will discuss the different factors contributing to underperformance and what managers should do about them.
A fatal mistake that many new managers make is to believe that underperformance results from skill deficiency and lack of talent. However, it could also be caused by other factors such as low motivation and ineffective communication skills, among others.
The Causes Behind Employee Underperformance
New managers’ challenges are numerous in nature when they are managing their teams. They have to deal with the fact that they don’t know the people they are working with, and they have to figure out their strengths and weaknesses.
One of the biggest challenges for new managers is dealing with underperformance. They often feel like it’s their fault that people aren’t performing well, but it’s not always the case. When you’re a new manager, you need to identify where your team is struggling and how you can help them address those issues.
Many different factors can cause underperformance; here is a brief breakdown of the most common ones:
- Absence of Required Skill — An employee was assigned to a position in which they are underqualified and lack confidence. They may also possess the technical ability but lack the knowledge to manage their time effectively.
- Unclear Work Expectations — Employees will not know precisely what is expected of them if job standards and organizational goals are vague.
- Job Dissatisfaction — They are unhappy because the job is not what they expected, and they lack the motivation to put up an effort.
- Company Culture Issues — People may not feel connected to a corporate culture or team if their work style and values do not align with them.
- Workplace Stress — A high-pressure environment or personality clashes with coworkers can lead to work-related stress, hindering performance.
- Inadequate Training & Skill Development — When employees cannot gain new skills, they become stagnant, and their performance suffers. If they don’t see a path to development and promotion, they may become less driven.
- Monotonous Routine — Doing the same activities every day can become monotonous, leading to people losing interest in their jobs and lacking the motivation to execute them well.
- Failure During Onboarding — Employees will be acclimatized and engaged with proper onboarding. They may be unprepared for their roles if this does not occur.
- Personal Issues — Difficult situations in employees’ personal lives can interfere with their capacity to focus on their work.
Top 4 Tips For Managing Underperforming Employees
Now that we have a basic understanding of one of the quintessential new manager’s challenges. It is now time to discuss what you can do about it and how you can manage your underperforming employees.
Here are the top four tips you need to use when managing your underperforming employees:
#1 Accept That There Is A Problem
When an employee is underperforming, the first step is to figure out the root of the problem. The good news is that there are ways to improve employee performance. The bad news is that these methods may be challenging to implement, and not everyone will be willing to work towards improvement.
What can you do when your employees are underperforming? First, you should accept that they are underperforming and then try to identify the problem. If it’s a lack of time management, then you should look into how they spend their time and how you could help them with this issue.
If it’s a lack of work ethic, you should look into what kind of company culture this company has and what values they uphold. Managers need to know the underlying reason for employee underperformance to fix it efficiently.
#2 Investigate To Understand The Cause
It’s easy to assume you already know what’s behind an employee’s lack of effort. You must set the correct tone for the meeting and ask the right questions to discover the real reasons.
The one-on-one encounter should take place in an environment devoid of distractions and where you won’t be overheard. Start the discussion by presenting specific examples of the employee’s underperformance and how it affects the rest of the team and the organization without being accusatory.
You may then find out what’s causing the employee’s lousy performance and how you, as a manager, or the company, contribute to the issue.
Please pay attention to the employee’s comments and offer follow-up questions to learn more about them and demonstrate that you care about their perspective.
#3 Develop An Course-correcting Action Plan
Now that both the parties have come to an understanding regarding the cause of the underperformance, we can start strategizing our next step. That is to develop a course-correcting action plan that will aid in moving this situation to a mutually beneficial resolution.
It would help if you gave suggestions on how to fix the problems, allow your employees to set self-goals, and provide us with their recommendations on improving their performance in a given time frame.
Based on the cause of underperformance, look for potential for job redesign or retraining/reskilling. If the problems are personal, you can suggest taking time off to address them.
Several perspectives should be included in the plan:
- A list of actions for which each participant is liable.
- Timeline for improving performance, including potential sanctions for significant issues
- Training, mentoring, duty modifications, and time off will be offered as needed.
#4 Monitor Progress & Provide Feedback
When you push a low-performing person to improve but never express gratitude when they do, they may feel alienated. Be vocal about the change you’ve noticed as the employee makes progress. Praise them for their efforts, focusing on what they’ve accomplished and the positive influence they’ve had.
It is also critical to provide precise and constructive criticism to an employee attempting to improve their performance. It will allow them to track their progress and identify areas that still require improvement. It should ideally include 360-degree feedback from persons who have interacted with the employee. These viewpoints will reveal how the employee’s performance affects others.
In Conclusion: Collaboration Is The Antidote To Underperformance
Even though dealing with underperformance might be time consuming, most underperforming employees will welcome a collaborative effort that coaches them to do their jobs better.
Collaboration is the antidote to underperformance and can solve this particular new managers’ challenges. It’s a matter of time before we see the benefits of collaboration in professional life.
The key to success is working together with other team members and developing a sense of trust and respect. This will make it easier for our teams to be more productive, communicate better, and reach their full potential.
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