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This podcast is for small to medium business owners. You've got a lot to gain, a lot to lose, and business is tough; there's a lot at stake. Business acumen is what every business owner needs, it will make a profound difference to your business.
This podcast will cover marketing, positioning, branding, lead generation, selling, negotiating, customer service, managing staff, managing finances and accounts and much more.
https://www.businessveteran.com.au/
mark@businessveteran.com.au
What to do about a problem employee Part 2
In Part 1 we talked about behaviour problems. In this Part 2 we're going to talk about outcomes, recall that in part 1 I said that managing people can be divided into behaviours and outcomes, so in the case of a problem employee, not achieving their outcomes.
The first question you need to ask yourself is: Am I doing the basics? Let's start with pay. Pay is a hygiene factor. That means that you just have to get it right. The employee needs to be happy with what they're being paid such that the whole issue is off the table until next year.
In recent times, pay has been increasing significantly so it is easy to fall behind. Don't wait for the employee to ask you, they may simply become disgruntled and leave. An employee who is constantly thinking that they are underpaid is going to be a real problem.
The other thing to think about, is pay equity within your business. Research has shown that nothing makes people angrier then finding out that someone else is paid more for doing the same or less. You cannot assume that pay will be kept confidential, you can make them sign whatever you like, they're going to talk to each other.
All right, next is assigning responsibilities for outcomes, not assigning tasks. We've talked about this in lots of other episodes, it is really powerful to think about what outcomes you want and assigning responsibility for achieving those outcomes. Do that in the position description, leave the lists and tasks for the operations manual.
Next assigning resources which includes: time, tools, money, staff and so on. Have they got the resources they need to do the job.
Next is measuring outcomes. The outcomes they are responsible for need to be measured in some objective, fair way. Impotently, the sorts of things you measure, have got to be things they can influence. So for example if you want them to get the job done in a certain amount of time, you need to give them feedback on how much time it's taking. Percentage of job complete is not so clear. Be careful of percentages- they don't mean much a lot of the time, and they can confuse employees or become meaningless.
Giving feedback; are you giving effective feedback to your employee to let them know how they're going. Is it regular and are you're giving them the good and the bad, or is it occasional, or even worse, do you only give them feedback when there's something wrong? Employees need at least three times more positive, that means letting them know when they're doing it correctly or even really well, more than when they're getting it wrong.
Are you getting feedback? Are you checking in with them to make sure that they are supplied with what they need to achieve the outcomes, not only in terms of resources, but in terms of support in the many forms that can take.
Here's a good one. You might inadvertently be driving them nuts. For example, nothing annoys front line managers more than the big boss swooping in and diverting their staff onto different jobs. The boss might have every right to do so, and there might even be a good reason, but the boss (that's you) must work through the front line manager, and not direct the staff directly.
So ask your problematic employee if they have any feedback for you. Is there anything you could do, or stop doing, which would make their life easier.
OK so that's the basics although I would add: Are you being firm about the outcomes. Often employees have lots of excuses for why they haven't achieved a particular outcome but you have to be rock solid "the business needs XYZ, how are we going to achieve it?" Best if they tell you the answer even if you know.
If this is not working, you may have to say something like "Ultimately, you need to achieve this outcome or I have to find someone to do it". It may need to be made clear that their job is on the line. I have seen this work more than once. The employee has just needed the importance of what you need put in perspective. They simply weren't understanding how important the outcome was to the business.
What I see so often is kindly business owners focussing on the employee's needs, and not focusing on what the business needs. Both needs must be met.
Remember, if we look after the business, it will be able to look after us.
Alright, that's the basics covered.
Now, if they were previously performing but now are not consider the following: Could they be burnt out? I've seen it plenty of times before, and it is quite often the 'A' players that get themselves into burnout. Be very careful about allowing employees to cash out their leave or take too much overtime. We all need our leave, and our home time whether we know it or not. In the medium to long term, all those extra hours are not sustainable. It will impact their productivity AND attitude.
Maybe there's something else going on in their life impacting their work. Have you spent enough time asking them what they need to succeed? Maybe they just need to get away each day to pick up a child from school. You're an SME you're flexible, large enterprises can't be so flexible, you might be able to shuffle things around so that you still get your outcomes and they get to balance the other competing demands in their life. You both win, you both get more. Alternatively consider an employee assistance program known by the acronym EAP. This is where you can supply some psychology sessions from a qualified psychologist - it gives the employee an opportunity to talk to someone qualified who could help
If they've never performed adequately in this role, or are new to the role: are they lacking the skills? Do they simply need coaching? More and more businesses I work with are establishing training programs. Some that are large enough are employing training managers - a particularly effective strategy in the current era of staff shortages.
With any performance problem, the question you need to consider is: are they moving forward, or do they seem to be stuck? If they are moving forward, that's a great sign, it means they want to be there, they want to learn and improve, and before too long you'll have a great performer.
Going back to the responsibilities for a moment, did they agree to the responsibilities? You cannot just make someone responsible for something. They have to accept the responsibility, having fully understood the outcomes required and the resources supplied. If they do not accept willingly, you have just created a problem. I've seen too many employees accept a higher role and more pay without fully being told, or buying into, what the responsibilities and targets involve.
Next, do they align with the vision of the company? Have you just performed a major pivot and now your business has changed its vision? Maybe it's no longer what they signed up for.
If they are new to the company, the question you need to ask is:
Do they really want the job? Too many apply for the paycheck and are not thinking about what will suit them longer term. I've talked before about how important career alignment is in how well they engage with the job you've given them.
An interesting test for whether or not they really want to be in your business, is to see how well they engage with learning opportunities. That will give you a big clue into what's going on for them.
Alright, hopefully by now you have a bit of a checklist for dealing with performance problems, as usual, make contact if you want to ask a question or discuss a problem employee and get some ideas for moving forward.