How to Handle Unreliable Employees

If you are saying things like “I just can’t rely on [insert employee name]”, you have an unreliable employee.

By tolerating unreliable behaviour, you are effectively asking your other staff to do their own work plus a portion of the unreliable staff member’s work. Over time, the stress and fatigue they experience will affect their productivity. In turn, this could lead to other problems in your business.

What makes an employee unreliable?

Unreliable employees tend to fall into 2 groups – those who have been unreliable from the start and good performers who are now unreliable.

1. Unreliable from the start

Initially you may have blamed unreliable behaviour on youth, being new to the organisation or any of the excuses the unreliable employee may have given you. However, you now realise it’s more than that.

Your inaction will communicate you are happy to accept unreliable behavior so you need to act promptly. Talk to the unreliable worker. Be specific about what they are doing and how it needs to change. In addition, try to uncover the reason for their unreliability. Things to look for are:

• The wrong position for their skillset or personality
• A lack of training so they don’t have the knowledge to perform the job well
• Interpersonal issues with other members of the team
• Problems at home or with their health
• Lifestyle issues such as mid-week partying or addictions

2. Formerly good workers who are now unreliable

When formerly productive and reliable workers change, you need to uncover what has caused the change. Things to look for are:

• A lack of challenge or boredom in their current role. If you value your employee, look for ways to advance their skill set otherwise you will lose them.

• A dispute with other team members or their supervisor. This needs to be resolved quickly before more staff become involved.

• Being the target of workplace bullying or other inappropriate actions. Again, this needs to be resolved quickly for both moral and legal reasons.

• Family problems distracting the employee from their work. In this case, find ways to support them at work and help them find support services to assist them outside of work hours.

• Health issues or addictions that may be affecting their ability to work efficiently. In this situation, always seek advice from experienced HR experts before attempting to handle this type of personnel problem.

Whatever the reason, never ignore the behaviour of an unreliable worker. By doing so, you are asking your other staff to do more than their fair share of work.

End2End Business Solutions offers business owners a range of support services to help them deal with unreliable staff members. To discover if End2End can help you, call 02 8977 4002.

Unreliable Employees - The Domino Effect

While you might be willing to tolerate an unreliable employee, there is actually a domino effect on the rest of your staff. Whether you mean to or not, by ignoring the problem, you are asking your most reliable, high performing staff to carry the extra workload of your unreliable worker.

In effect, you’re punishing your good performers and rewarding your unreliable one.

If you allow the problem to continue for too long, it will take its toll on everyone. As a result, you risk losing your best staff because they feel you are taking advantage of them.

If left unchecked, you also risk staff burn-out as your reliable staff carry the responsibility of achieving their own KPIs as well as a portion of the unreliable employee’s workload.

How to recognise an unreliable employee?

The symptoms of an unreliable employee include:

• Absenteeism
• Frequently missed deadlines
• Habitually arriving late for work
• Inconsistent work quality
• Regularly making simple mistakes
• Repeating the same mistakes after follow-up training
• Failure to follow instructions
• Frequently missing team meetings or appointments with clients

Of course, no employee is perfect but if these symptoms become frequent or even predictable, you need to take action before they start to affect your whole team.

Implement an action plan

If you have an employee exhibiting any of the above symptoms, you need to address the situation promptly. Start with explaining what behavior needs to be changed and how.

Next, put together a performance management system that you both agree on. It should include the behavior and goals you expect the unreliable worker to achieve. Be very specific about the timeframes and outcomes you require.

If you are uncertain about how to manage an unreliable employee or would like expert advice, speak to the team at End2End Business Solutions. They have a range of services that may be suitable for your business.

Don’t wait until your unreliable employee is affecting the productivity of your whole team. Call End2End Business Solutions today on 02 8977 4002.

How to turn an underperformer into a star performer

On average, managers spend 14% of their time correcting the mistakes of poor performers according to research conducted by The Future Foundation. That equates to 33½ work days each year.

Yet many managers prefer to avoid having difficult conversations with their under performing staff so the poor performance continues.

Here are 5 steps to help you turn your under performer into employee of the month. 

Step 1: Act now or you’ll regret it later

Under performance needs to be corrected as soon as you notice there’s a problem. The faster you act, the less impact it will have on your business and other members of your team. Don’t wait until a small performance problem becomes a large and irritating one.

Step 2: Define the problem and be specific

Delve under the surface to seek the real reasons for your employee’s poor performance. Can it be improved with more training? Do they have an issue with motivation or team dynamics? Perhaps they are a poor fit for the job but have skills that could be better utilised elsewhere in your organisation?

You will achieve the best results when you truly understand what’s stopping your employee from achieving greatness.

“Take care of your employees and your employees will take care of your customers”.

                                                                                                            - Richard Branson

Step 3: Have an honest conversation

Arrange a private meeting with your employee. Be empathetic, honest and factual when delivering your feedback. Provide your employee with specific examples demonstrating when their performance was lacking and how the task should have been performed.

Step 4: Develop a resolution plan with your employee

Give your employee every chance to succeed by working together to find ways to implement performance improvements. Clearly communicate what is expected, provide measurable outcomes and reasonable timeframes.

Step 5: Monitor progress and give feedback

Schedule regular follow up meetings to review your employee’s performance based on the agreed plan. Continue to provide specific feedback (whether good or bad) and monitor their performance. Importantly, don’t forget to recognise and congratulate them on their efforts and improvements.

Honestly, when you take the time to manage an under performing employee, your efforts will usually be rewarded.

Don’t wait until you’ve lost all patience or the situation reaches a crisis point. Contact End2End Business Solutions to help you manage your under performing staff. Call 02 8977 4002.

3 Reasons Why Performance Management is Worth it

We love this Workplace Bulletin article about Performance Management…

Why manage an employee you know won’t improve?

Performance management, when used properly and fairly, makes perfect business sense when you have a worker who you know would benefit from some guidance and management. But what about that worker who is treading water … whose under-performance has been ongoing and is unlikely to improve? Is it worth your efforts?

Let’s face it – performance management takes time and absorbs your resources. And it’s not guaranteed to deliver the results you want (even for the ‘good’ employee).

So, what course of action should you take when the under-performing worker’s attitude is affecting staff morale, or is having a negative impact on clients or customers … and you?

Get rid of them! I hear you cry. Why should I keep paying a troublesome worker any longer than I have to?

Rebecca Byun, an employment law expert at Holding Redlich, warns that skipping the performance management process altogether and proceeding to dismiss the under-performing employee is risky. She provides three good reasons for applying a performance management process to your business.

1. Skipping performance management leaves your business exposed to various employee claims

“Recent data shows that the majority of claimants coming before the Fair Work Commission are individuals disputing the termination of their employment,” Byun says. “This comes as no surprise as employees today are more aware of and vigilant with their rights. And mostly, employee claims are easy and inexpensive to commence.”

She says the workers most likely to make an unfair dismissal claim - who say their dismissal was harsh, unjust and unreasonable - are the ones not given an opportunity to respond or a chance to improve their performance and/or conduct.

“In this context, a decision not to undertake performance management can be fatal to defending this type of claim,” she says.

A worker is less likely to pursue an unfair dismissal claim against you if they have been taken through an objective performance management process showing there was a legitimate reason for dismissal and it was nothing personal.

2. Any savings made by dismissing the worker early may be outweighed by the costs of recruitment and defending claims

Byun says even though you may make some initial savings from not having to invest any further time and resources into your worker, you may need to commit additional time and resources in recruiting and training someone new for the job, which may ultimately cancel out those initial savings. Add to this any costs and time for defending any claims in court and you may find that it has cost your business much more in the longer term, she says.

3. Three strikes you’re out! - Myth

“Let’s kill one myth of performance management once and for all,” Byun states. “Unless you have committed the business to this process in a policy or contract, there is no ‘three strikes’ rule or a set minimum period for a performance management process.”

She says the process of managing an employee’s performance needs to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

“It will depend on factors such as the degree of under-performance, the nature of the required level of skills or performance, the extent to which the underperformance is impacting others including staff and clients and whether the employee has already been made informally aware of their performance issues,” she says.

How important is the process?

In most cases, the answer will be ‘extremely’.  There is an abundance of cases where the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has found that employers should have dealt with performance issues more adequately through performance management before proceeding to dismissal.

Source Workplace Bulletin Wednesday 9th March 2016

Re-shaping Performance Management


Performance management has been a popular topic of discussion within organisations recently, with 96% of surveyed organisations having recently changed or planning to change their system within the next 12 – 18 months. As companies struggle with leadership, engagement, and capability challenges, they are realizing that the performance management process affects all of these challenges.

Many employees and managers are feeling dissatisfied and frustrated with the current performance management systems. However instead of completely over hauling current systems, the way to change will most likely require organisations to evolve the practices they already have in place.

New performance management models are now becoming imperative as businesses update and improve their talent solutions. Companies leading this transformation are redefining the way they set goals and evaluate performance, focusing heavily on coaching and feedback and looking for new technologies to make performance management easier.

Some essential changes are needed but some of the original elements should remain the same.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when changing your performance management strategies:

• Performance management is changing, not disappearing with the focus shifting from annual assessments to more continuous dialogue. The performance information gathered will be more constant and more relatable to what employees are doing at that moment instead of reviewing what they did six months to a year ago.
• Corporate culture and values are to become more closely aligned, with employers encouraged to enabling employees to do their best instead of “fixing” their performance.
• Different techniques for different areas of the workforce. Different jobs require different performance management criteria and systems.
• Disposing of the performance rating. Rating your employees is not helpful or productive. If ratings are not eliminated completely, they should at least be simplified into broader categories.
• Separate performance from rewards. Fixed approached based on performance ratings are dubious, especially when objectives are conditional or achieved through team collaboration.  Assessing someone’s skills produces inconsistent data. 
• Continuous feedback - the regularity, emphasis and quality of communication will change to enable more real time conversations about how the employee is going.
• Mobile technology should enable more immediate and personalised feedback.
• Managers need training to become leaders. Manages who have received development to become better mentors and coaches will focus conversations on capabilities and performance than faults or issues.
• Simplicity is the key. Much of the current performance management processes involve filling out paperwork, evaluating job rankings and developing unrealistic goals. The information that was gathered had little practical application for managers or team leaders. 

How our Emotional State Affects our Employees

Research is now discovering that emotions are capable of affecting memory, perception and cognition. All of these things can influence how an employee performs at work.

When people are influenced by the moods of others, especially those in managerial positions, it can impact their behaviour at work. This is called “emotional contagion”. How we feel can spill out and infect other people, essentially making us walking mood inductors.

We even have cells in our bodies called mirror neurons which allow us to be in touch with how other people are feeling by simply observing them. Neuroscientists have recently discovered that empathy is driven by these mirror neurons which are located in the frontal cortex of your brain. Mirror neurons fire in the same way whether you're watching someone do something or you are actually doing that same thing yourself.

At work, it is often the leader’s responsibility to set the mood for the rest of the team in the workplace. The emotions people bring to work are as important as their cognitive skills, and especially so for leaders. If you are a leader, consider that managing your moods is one of your chief responsibilities.

A good way to look at it is, your mood, positive or negative, will remain in a room long after you have left it and the mood you generate is directly related to how you make people feel.
There has been little research done on the ramifications of group emotions. If you consider the effects of emotional contagion, it is easy to assume that within the workplace groups are reflecting the influence of key emotional people within their team. Usually the leaders.

The key to stopping this emotional contagion is awareness, however often another person’s negative mood affects you unconsciously. If you realise that someone else’s bad mood is affecting you, you can control it. For this reason, making people, especially managers, aware of emotional contagion is vital. It is important to understand that when employees are exposed to the moods of leaders who are giving off feelings of anger or hostility, it can have toxic effects on their performance.

The same goes for feelings of confidence and enthusiasm. This is why it is so important for leaders to understand that they can utilise mood contagion to create a positive emotional climate for their employees.

When managers learn to control their own emotions and know the emotional triggers of their team, they can manipulate the atmosphere of their workplace.

Tips for Implementing a Performance Management System

The basic theory behind a performance management strategy is that if employees know what is expected of them, they are more likely to excel at their jobs. This is also a vital aspect of employee engagement.

By implementing a system like this you will see improved individual performance, greater employee engagement and overall better organisational performance.

Here are some keys steps to implementing a successful performance management system.

1. Clarify Objectives

An important first step is identifying some major objectives for the program and refining the need for a performance management system. What should be included within the system? You can choose to get input from your employees when trying to define the parameters of your performance management system or you can delegate it to your HR department. A good place to start is to use the definition of improving performance and satisfaction.

Some helpful things to include in a performance management system are:

• A clear company vision
• Documented and communicated core competencies
• Formal and Informal rewards which are seen as consistent and fair

2. Support of Your Managers

Once your objectives have been identified along with your expected business outcomes, you have to ensure that your managers are on board. The agreement of the senior management team is needed before any implementation steps are taken. Many systems fail because they are not seen to be included in a managers basic day to day responsibilities. Senior Managers must be seen to be actively supporting the process.

When training your managers in the implementation of a performance management system it is important that they understand:

• How much time is required to implement the system and maintain it on an ongoing basis?
• How the system works and what it will deliver if its implemented successfully
• And developing the skills necessary to carry our effective performance management often take time – more time than expected.

3. Prepare system and supporting materials and documentation
                            
Develop a process and documentation to support the system. Ensure core competencies are defined with associated behaviours and are communicated to all staff.

Included in the documentation should be:

• Review performance against the key parts of the job
• Review performance against any specific goals or objectives which have been set
• Review performance against the organisation’s core competencies if they have been defined
• Identify any learning and development needs for both short and longer term
• Allow for feedback on progress on an ongoing basis
• Ensure job descriptions are current and in a form that provides clear and measurable results required

The Benefits of Implementing a Performance Management Strategy

A performance management strategy is important for the improvement of the overall structural performance of a company by managing the performance of both teams and individuals to ensure the achievement of organizational ambitions and goals.

A successful performance management strategy can play a vital role in managing the performance in an organisation by:

• Making sure that the employees understand the importance of their contributions to the company’s goal.
• Ensuring that each employee understands their role within the organisation and what is expected from them.
• Identifies if employees have the specific skills needed to fulfil the expectations of their job.
• Facilitating effective communication throughout the organisation.
• Encouraging a pleasant and harmonious relationship between managers and employees.

Performance management strategies can have a positive influence on employee engagement and job satisfaction by

• Providing honest and open job feedback to employees
• Establishing a connection between performance and compensation.
• Providing learning and developmental opportunities when they are needed.
• Establishing clear performance objectives.
• Providing opportunities for career growth.

Establishing defined goals and regularly assessing individual performances can help you to establish any major skill gaps, therefore helping you understand where extra training may be needed. A performance management strategy can help you evaluate the willingness of an employee to take on higher responsibilities and provide feedback to employees on their current competencies and where they might need to improve.

A common misunderstanding among managers is that behaviour and activities are the same as results. An employee may give the impression of being very busy but may not be actually contributing at all towards company goals. They may not, for example, be fulfilling their job using the latest or most time efficient procedures.

A performance management strategy helps to identify organisational goals and the measures that need to be taken to achieve those goals. It also helps to gage the effectiveness or efficiency and means of attaining these goals.

The results from the information collected from a personal management system have a wide variety of uses. They can help with setting standards for comparison with best practices in other organisations. They can provide you with a consistent basis for comparison during internal changes or restructures. It can also help you to establish results during improvement efforts such as employee training or management development. They help to encourage fair and equal treatment to employees based on their performances.

4 simple steps to HR success in 2014

1.  Make sure Everyone has a Clear Job Description

Make sure everyone is aware of what their specific roles and duties are within the work place. People generally perform better when they know what is expected of them.

Having a clear role or job description allows your employees to be accountable for their work.

Having specific tasks for each employee allows staff to take pride in their work. Jobs may get overlooked if they are not assigned to one person as everyone will assume that someone else is doing it.

2.  Be Clear when Communicating

Be careful to clarify directives. Miscommunication can lead to confusion and hostility in the workplace. Pay close attention to how your staff communicate with each other and take steps to improve communication where needed. This can save you time, money and give you a more harmonious workplace.

Ensure that all staff are aware of the importance of each members contribution and demonstrate how everyone’s roles work together to achieve their goals.

Communication is the single most important factor in successful teamwork.

3.  Have Clear Workplace Policies

Have clear policies in place that cover important issues such as:

• Bullying
• Sexual harassment
• Drug and alcohol abuse
• Workplace behaviour
• Health and safety

Having clear policies in place allow staff to know what is acceptable in the workplace and what is not. Make sure your staff are aware of the consequences of straying from these policies.
Be fair and consistent when dealing with staff that have gone against company policies.
Having policies in place can make it more difficult for staff to bring claims against you.
Lawsuits fines and penalties affect the financial health of your business.
Create employee manuals that outline appropriate behaviour in the workplace.

4.  Keep employee contracts up to date

Make sure that all your employees have a legally compliant contract of employment.
Signed contracts can avoid conflict regarding a person’s employment status, wage and benefits.
Small businesses usually create formal, written employment contracts that dictate the specific terms of their employment agreements.

An employment contract helps protect the long-term interests and well-being of both parties. An employment contract provides a formal (and legal) record of both parties' expectations and agreements at the time of hire.

Employment contracts don't have to be overly long and complicated; in fact, the clearer and briefer the contract, the better. A standard contract can be created for all employees and customised for specific jobs.

December Case Study: The Right Fit

It is amazing how one individual can so greatly impact a business, particularly if they are not the 'right fit'. One distributor of personal products I have been working with recently experienced this first hand, as they employed someone who didn't fuse well into the culture of the business.

Whilst  teamwork was such a strong part of this business' culture, the new employee seemed to cross the boundaries, treating other team members like their own personal assistants, including the business owners. Working cooperatively with the owners, I developed a time management strategy to review, improve and boost the new employee's performance. Unfortunately, only two weeks into the implementation of these strategies, the employee resigned, after causing havoc within the business for nine months. 

When recruiting new employees, always identify the prospect's characteristics and skills, and consider how they may fit within and enhance the business. Note that a transition from a major corporation into a small business may be difficult; but whilst it is certainly possible, it may require some assistance and investment on the employer's part. It is crucial you ask questions to the new employee, and make your expectations of them clear. 

My client was amazed at the effect the employee had on the business, and how the energy returned following their departure. As an owner or employer, always aim for prevention rather than management and, address issues at their immediate appearance. Be patient enough to wait for the right fit, rather than settling for the first in. 

End2End Business Solutions can help you find the right employees that fit your business! Contact Annette on 8977-4002 for assistance.

What Gets You Out Of Bed In The Morning?

Who is really responsible for the development of my career?
With statistics reporting more than 35% of people waking up wondering how on earth they ‘got here’, it seems that we live in a world, of which a large proportion of people tend to fall into their careers based on circumstances rather than a passion or dream.

According to research from Right Management; over 90% of HR managers feel their organisations are under performing and that almost half of all employees are wrongly fitted in their careers. It’s no wonder employees are left uninspired to perform at their optimum capacity in their career of, well, chance.

Career management practice leader of Right Management, Tim Roche, recently stated that half of the 146 000 participants in his survey, aiming to challenge and bring awareness to their true career motivators, effectively made some career change.

 No longer in the age where an employee would spend their lives in one occupation and/or in one company, there are a few grey areas regarding who’s responsibility it is to motivate and develop an employee’s career.

 It is unfortunately not yet typical of a business to integrate both career development and business strategies, although doing so might increase the company’s performance, productivity and overall focus from employees, whilst decreasing turnover.

There is a need for managers to be bold and courageous enough to tackle career management, so that employees are not only strategically motivated and empowered in the present, but also for the years to come. Managers must learn to seek and embrace friendly, personal conversations with employees about the direction of their careers.

 Common misconceptions prohibiting managers from stepping up in this area, rather than avoiding completely or redirecting matters to the company board, are that such conversations will be an expense or that employees may be unrealistic in their expectations or capabilities. In order to engage employees in a positive way, managers must be secure in their own understanding of what drives and motivates both themselves and their fellow employees, and how to implement principles and strategies to encourage this.

 Lizzy Allen of Right Management, adds that career management should involve tripartite commitment, in which the individual, the leader and the organisation equally commit to enable, discuss and promote career development. It is the tripartite commitment that allows active and personal relationships to ensure the success of all parties.

December Case Study: The Right Fit

It is amazing how one individual can so greatly impact a business, particularly if they are not the 'right fit'. One distributor of personal products I have been working with recently experienced this first hand, as they employed someone who didn't fuse well into the culture of the business. 

Whilst  teamwork was such a strong part of this business' culture, the new employee seemed to cross the boundaries, treating other team members like their own personal assistants, including the business owners. 

Working cooperatively with the owners, I developed a time management strategy to review, improve and boost the new employee's performance. Unfortunately, only two weeks into the implementation of these strategies, the employee resigned, after causing havoc within the business for nine months.

When recruiting new employees, always identify the prospect's characteristics and skills, and consider how they may fit within and enhance the business. Note that a transition from a major corporation into a small business may be difficult; but whilst it is certainly possible, it may require some assistance and investment on the employer's part. It is crucial you ask questions to the new employee, and make your expectations of them clear.

My client was amazed at the effect the employee had on the business, and how the energy returned following their departure. As an owner or employer, always aim for prevention rather than management and, address issues at their immediate appearance. Be patient enough to wait for the right fit, rather than settling for the first in. End2End Business Solutions can help you find the right employees that fit your business! Contact Annette on 8977-4002 for assistance.

Managing poor performance and behaviour

In order to maintain a harmonious, efficient and consistent work environment, the manner in which you deal with bad behavior is particularly important.

Bad, disruptive or negative behavior in the workplace is essentially a rebellious form of underperformance, and may be triggered from a number of factors including:

•                    An employee’s confusion or ignorance regarding their goals, expectations, standards to be upheld and resulting consequences

•                    Personality or cultural clashes

•                    Incompetency in the tasks or skills required of the employee

•                    Insecurity or uncertainty in their performance resulting from lack of praise or feedback

•                    Indolence, poor work ethic or environment

•                    Issues in an employee’s personal world

•                    Feeling victimized by workplace bullying

Developing a strategy on how to deal with such behavior, prior to having to deal with such situations is crucial. In the case that the issue results in termination and is taken to Fair Work, it is imperative to have a clear trail of documentation. These documents should include clear procedures on how to manage underperformance and a job description that highlights the expectations, roles and targets of each employee. 

Employees need to be aware of their job descriptions and of the employers’ management of work performance. Should management of underperformance become necessary, or should an employee violate employment conditions, documentation of interviews should be kept, as should any email communication. To help avoid small issues resurfacing, documentation of the management of each individual incident is helpful. 

Note however, not all issues of underperformance may need a formal address; the answer may be as simple as implementing of a culture of regular feedback to improve employees’ performance.

There are a few important steps in managing bad behaviour. These are:

1.   Identify the issue

2.   Assess the issue

3.   Discuss the issue with the employee in a private conversation

4.   Devise a solution as a team

5.   Monitor performance

A few other keys to remember when dealing with underperformance or any work related issue is to steer clear of using business jargon in conversation, and opt for a more relatable choice of words to avoid alienation or misunderstanding.  An employee should come away from the conversation with a clear understanding of the expectations of them in the workplace, the improvement required, and any follow up steps that will be taken

To find out more, or for assistance with managing poor performance or behaviour, contact Annette at End2End Business Solutions on (02) 8977 4002.