Free Resources

There is one common workplace issue that has the most potential to lower employee morale, lower workplace productivity, waste hundreds of hours of person hours and drive managers and workmates to distraction. The issue is poorly performing staff that fail to meet the required work standards and they may be widely known as being this way, for years.

And while many poorly performing staff can be successfully turned around, there is little hope of success when a staff member's manager (or other managers in the chain) ignores the problem in the hope the staff member may eventually leave the organisation; or, miraculously, the performance issues will spontaneously right themselves, without any attention, support and interventions, whatsoever.

Within many organisations with known historical poor performers, you may find:

• a long line of managers who have managed them
• a short list of failed, short-lived interventions
• a lack of specialist HR and senior management support for the manager(s) dealing with inherited problems
• a lack of good record keeping, so details on staffs' actual performance and discussions with the staff member concerned are inadequate and unhelpful
• a stop/start approach taken - stopped when the manager or workplace is busy and started up again when the manager has more time to deal with it
• a reluctance to name the performance for what it is and an inability or reluctance to discuss the performance, in the clearest terms, with the staff member concerned
• overly simple performance appraisal forms that are inadequate and meaningless to staff and managers
• overly complex performance appraisal forms and processes that are inordinately time consuming and off putting for staff and managers, so a quick run through is the most practical approach
• false information recorded on performance appraisals, so that the impression the staff member has and any other future manager has, is that the performance is good and more than meets the required standards
• disgruntled colleagues who are tired of carrying poor performing colleagues and seeing and experiencing management doing little about it
• organisational cultural norms that tolerate low standards and poor performance.

You may also find some known poor performers may:

• have no idea their performance isn't to standard, because they have never been told that directly, clearly and consistently
• have a grudge against their manager or the organisation as a whole or have a history of malicious actions against their manager and defy all attempts to be managed or held accountable for their work
• be bored or unhappy in their job and want to leave but don't have the confidence/skills or abilities to apply for other jobs; are waiting until they can retire; are waiting until the organisation restructures so they can be paid to go; are waiting for their manager to leave, so they can be left in peace.

When you think about it, how can organisations afford to carry staff that aren't pulling their weight, contributing to the development of the business yet are receiving a full salary? How can managers really meet their stipulated performance standards if some of their staff aren't doing their job to the required standard and team/section targets are consistently low or missed altogether?

How can individuals be expected to improve their performance if they don't know how they are really performing, the standards they are required to work to and the processes that can be put in place to help them achieve the standards? How can individuals realistically expect to be unchallenged and keep their job if they are choosing to sabotage their workplace by passive resistance or deliberate intent?

We ignore poor performers at our peril. The cycle of systemic management failure (failure by management to identify and address issues in a timely and thorough fashion) can be stopped if something is immediately done when performance issues and problems first appear. We can:

• set clear, high standards of performance
• adopt an organisation wide zero tolerance to poor performance and a zero tolerance to ignoring difficult issues
• develop sound, fair, respectful performance appraisal processes and use them in the manner intended
• train managers in the correct use of performance appraisal processes (accurate information, truthful comments, active support for staff, endorsement of good performance, identification of areas needing attention, identifying professional development opportunities, encouragement)
• develop processes to support poor performers lift their game, in a managed, timely, supportive process
• identify and treat poor performers with respect and courtesy and name the issues for what they are
• request managers to deal with any poor performers in their team and provide meaningful, ongoing support to them, while they do so
• provide ongoing HR and specialist support to managers dealing with poor performers
• be consistent and start and finish the process; and make the hard decisions to remove staff from their role or organisation if they cannot, despite support and guided interventions, do their job.

 

Sue Dwan

Director, Dwan & Associates ltd

July 2010

 

 

In the midst of managing the day to day operations of our department or business, we can often miss the subtle clues that tell us if everything is running as it should be. If we want to be proactive in terms of business health, we can conduct a mini review or audit of key areas on a regular basis to ensure our operating infrastructure is sound, any potential issues that could cause damage or distress are dealt to, when they first appear and what works well is identified and celebrated. Here’s some steps to get you on your way: 

1. Strategic goals and objectives

Check there are processes around annual strategic thinking and thinking activities that result in a documented strategic plan, with strategic goals and objectives. Check that something is done with the plan i.e. translated into annual business plans, and that the plans are actioned, monitored, adjusted and monitored throughout their life span. Identify the systems in place to ensure the strategic goals and objectives and, the goals and objectives of business plans, are achieved. 

2. Values and Culture

Identify what the documented organisational values are and ask staff to describe the values and culture of the business or their section, to determine whether the values and culture are healthy and positive or something else entirely. Check the norms regarding communications, working as a team, being collegial, being professional, adhering to company policies and legislative requirements, customer service and relationship building. 

3. Structure

Check whether the organisational structure has been developed by default or design; and whether it still meets the current needs of the business i.e. too lean and mean or soft and flabby? Check the formal power structure versus the informal power structure to see if they’re similar or wildly different. Check whether leadership exists and if so, in leadership roles or other roles. Check the structure in relation to strategic goals and objectives to see if it can support future organisational growth and development. 

4. Systems

Check to see all the systems needed run the business actually exist and being used by staff. Determine whether there are any duplicated or missing systems. Check whether the key systems are user friendly, easy to use and known by all staff. Check what systems exist to ensure policies, procedures and systems are reviewed regularly and updated, if need be. Check the internal quality control systems, to ensure products and/or services, are critiqued regularly; check the complaints system and procedures, to ensure client/customer feedback is captured. Check the system for monitoring the strategic plans and annual business plans, so the strategic goals are achieved. 

4. Personnel

Check to see if the staffing levels are appropriate; whether the right people, with the right skills, are in the right roles. Determine whether roles are clearly defined and all staff know what is expected of them. Check whether staff are actively engaged and enthusiastic about their work or disengaged and stale. Check whether staff are supported in their work. Check whether staff are resourced to do their job. 

5. Policies and Procedures

Check that policies and procedures are documented and updated regularly. Determine where policy/procedure gaps exist and where duplications occur. Check whether standard operating procedures are in an easy to follow/use form – and are actually being used, in the manner intended. 

6. Products and/or services

Check to see the current product/service offerings are relevant and what the market requires. Check client/customer and staff feedback for complaints or suggestions for improvement. Determine where the products/services are in their life cycle. Determine what the competitors are doing. 

7. Finances

Check whether the business/unit is viable. Check whether the business is operating within budget and closely monitored. Check the appropriateness of financial policies on debtors/creditors; investments; debt financing, cash handling, cheque signatories, overdrafts etc. Check whether the GST/IRD funds are being used only for those purposes. Check the record keeping is up to date and appropriately filed. Check whether end of year financial information is compiled and sent to the accountant within a designated time frame.

 8. PR and Communications

Check the status of the communications plan, to see if it is documented or held in people’s heads. Identify the key stakeholders and the channels used to communicate with them. Check the frequency of the communications. Check the professionalism of the communications (i.e. error free, right tone, clear messages). Examine customer/staff formal and informal feedback to see how the business/unit is perceived or experienced. Examine the physical work space to determine the message it conveys to staff and the public. Check the image staff are conveying by their dress code, to se it fits with the organisation’s professional image. 

9. Customers/clients

Check the profile of customers/clients to determine who they are and where they’re from. Determine whether the database of customers/clients is regularly updated. Determine whether you want to keep all or some of your customers/clients. Check the ways customers/clients are acknowledged by the business. 

10. Leadership & Management

Check whether the leaders are leading and the managers are managing. Check whether the leadership and management styles are appropriate and conducive for achieving the business goals and enabling staff to be their best. Check whether people walk the talk or simply talk the talk. Check what they are role modelling to others. 

Mini reviews enable a reviewer to take a quick snapshot of a business or unit at a particular point in time. They’re a great opportunity to identify and celebrate what works well and what may need attention.

There are few organisations that haven’t faced experienced restructuring, downsizing, incremental change, acquisition or mergers. Constant organisational change, in order to remain competitive or cost effective, is the norm. Yet how many managers, asked to take a key role in change management processes, have had the training to do so? How many simply learn on the job?�

» Read More

It’s jokingly referred to as a mid-life crisis which is a misnomer really, as it may occur when individuals are in their 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. It’s typically a time of reflection on the meaning of one’s life, work and career.�

» Read More

Sometimes giving feedback performance to staff is difficult to do and because of that, managers may avoid doing it. This approach isn’t recommended, as staff who don’t receive positive feedback often don’t know how well they’re doing. They fail to get their efforts acknowledged and endorsed. They may feel devalued, lose heart and their productivity may suffer. Similarly, staff who don’t receive constructive feedback have no opportunity to know their efforts could be improved, and miss the opportunity to learn or do something differently.�

» Read More

Just recently I had a telephone call I didn’t expect nor ever wanted to get – a call saying a colleague had been killed in an accident. How shocking and sobering it was to contemplate a vibrant life abruptly halted; and to consider the impact sudden death has on family, friends, colleagues, workmates and workplaces. And it reminded me of hearing someone describe the difficulties they had experienced some years back, when a close relative and small business owner suddenly died and they needed to tie up all the loose ends and physically close down the business.�

» Read More

I’d always suspected it could occur, but I’d never seen it happen. I’d heard colleagues speak of their near-miss experiences, but I hadn’t ever really seen anything quite so spectacular, quite so toe curling, until recently. I’d been at a conference and had enjoyed various key note presentations and then suddenly, a presenter’s worst nightmare and near death by PowerPoint, for the audience.�

» Read More

A colleague asked me recently what could be done to help a staff member move from a whinging and whining attitude to a winning one and I had no ready answer. I thought later of managers I’d talked to over the years, who said that while ‘people management’ can be the most rewarding aspect of a managerial role, at times it can be most frustrating, difficult and draining. A common observation from managers is that dealing with staff with negative attitudes and a black hat view of everything in the workplace, can be most difficult thing to deal with. Another oft-made observation is that the effect of such a person on other employees can be widespread and devastating. �

» Read More

When I made a brief visit to New York recently, I got a great surprise. I had thought that travelling in the States would be a real breeze given it was an English-speaking country and the culture not too dissimilar to our own. How surprised I was to find myself talking to native-English speaking Americans and understanding little of what was being said, because of their fast connected speech and use of idioms. I was taken aback when I realised that most I spoke to couldn’t understand my speech either, for the very same reasons.�

» Read More

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about new houses and their construction, what with the building boom and all. It seems as if every second section now transforms itself in simply a matter of weeks – an old house today, pods and new framing the next, and voila, a new something or other the one following that. And in amongst all this of course, are the dedicated home handypersons who titivate their home and section every weekend.�

» Read More