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

Essential HR Disciplines for Salesforce Effectiveness

Often, when HR professionals are asked why they aren't more involved, common responses include, a common response is that “Sales kind of does its own thing." Sales leadership does carry the main responsibility for sales effectiveness, however, Human Resources need to increase their involvement in salesforce effectiveness. Why? Basically, companies that do not involve HR in salesforce effectiveness stall their growth.

Here are three of the core Human Resources disciplines that help to drive salesforce effectiveness;

Talent

HR partners will often be requested to help Sales Management with recruiting specific job roles. Sometimes, the Sales team accuses the HR team of not understanding the skill set required for those jobs. The Sales & Human Resources teams need to work together and be able to strategise together. One key strategy would be to focus on talent, this includes; managing poor performance and providing better training for the sales team.

Motivation

The next core element of Human Resources that is vital to maintaining a high-performing sales team is motivation. Sales employees often have a different perspective from the rest of the employee population and are usually more motivated by product quality, marketing influence and achievable goals than their non-sales colleagues, and less motivated by performance management and equity rewards.

Compensation ranks high on their list of concerns, but are these organizations more productive because they pay more, or are they paying more because they're more productive? Paying at or above the market doesn't mean performance will follow. Pay and performance are vital components of salesforce engagement and motivation.

Productivity

There is a strong relationship between sales force effectiveness and time allocation. Companies who spend more time on sales, and less on other duties, such as administration, often have greater sales productivity.

Within any sales organization there is opportunity for productivity to increase and can directly translate to the company's growth. Sales organizations need HR disciplines to align talent with strategy, assess opportunities for increased motivation, and identify barriers of productivity. HR has a very relevant, hands-on role in contributing to sales force effectiveness.

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. 

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

One on One with the Boss

Most management conversations happen during group meetings, emails. Over the phone or when a problem arises.

However, it is good practice to meet with your boss one on one more frequently to get a little advice, support and motivation.

The main goal of a one on one meeting with your boss is communicating with them about the work you are carrying out for them.

• Before you go into a meeting with your boss ask yourself the following: 
• Are there problems that haven’t been spotted yet? 
• Problems that need to be solved? 
• Resources that need to be obtained? 
• Are any instructions or goals not clear? 
• Has anything happened since we last talked that the boss should know about? 
• Are there questions the boss needs to answer? 

Here are a few tips for making the most of a one on one session with your boss.

• Be prepared – make notes about what you would like to discuss with your boss ahead of time. If you have a problem to discuss bring your recommended solution, likewise if you have a decision to be made, make your recommended decision known.
• Keep your boss informed of all the key things you have been working on. This is a good opportunity to highlight your accomplishments and get some guidance and coaching from your boss.
• Own up to your mistakes. If you are having a meeting due to a mistake you have made, don’t be afraid to own up to it and make yourself accountable. Do not try and pass the blame or point the finger at your colleagues. 
• Always try to have a positive attitude in meetings with management. It is not productive or helpful to go into a meeting with a negative state of mind and you will cover more ground in your meeting if you stay upbeat.
• Include career development as a regular agenda item in your meetings. This will help you determine and achieve your goals as well as demonstrate to your boss that you are ambitious and have a desire to improve.
• Ask for feedback. Many bosses find giving feedback uncomfortable but by asking for it you are opening the lines of communication and making them feel more comfortable. 
• Let your boss know what you need in order to be successful. If you let your boss know in a constructive way how they can support you, most will do what they can to help.

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.