We all have had bad days at work when our performance is less than the standard, but the next day we pick it up and get back on top of our game giving our best at work.
What do you do when poor performance starts to become an employees regular performance? I am sure we have all worked in places where we have seen this happen and wonder why management allows it to continue.
It can be quite frustrating for co-workers to be working side-by-side someone who is performing below the standard on a daily basis. Many managers would rather choose to look the other way instead of dealing with an employee with poor performance as confrontation and rehabilitation take time. It must be dealt with if you want to keep it from spreading to other employees.
Tackling the problem right away when poor performance is noticed is always best. It can be as simple as asking the person if everything is okay because you noticed their performance has recently dropped. This not only gives the person a chance to respond, but it lets them know that you are aware that they have slipped below the line, opening the door for further communication if it happens again.
If you wait too long to deal with the issue of poor performance you are opening yourself up to a lot of problems, not only with the employee whom you are dealing with, who questions if this was a problem why didn’t you say something before?
But with the other employees who begin to think it is okay for one employee to not work as hard as the rest, then why should they?
Speaking as a manager who has been on the side of waiting to see if things will turn around and they did not, it is much easier to address this type of issue immediately when it appears.
Keeping the workplace standards up above the line keeps everyone happy because they know what the expectations are and know that they apply to everyone.
08/12/14
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