Effective strategies for optimizing team performance
As a manager, you are responsible for the overall performance of the team and its impact on the company as a whole. To minimize any negative impact on the company, it is important to address employee performance issues in a timely and effective manner.
Swiss recruitment specialist Robert Walters presents some strategies for dealing with poor performance and tips on how to implement them.
Regular appraisal meetings
If an employee is not meeting performance standards, it is important to identify the underlying causes. Poor performance can have the following reasons:
- Lack of commitment to the role and tasks
- Insufficient skills or general abilities
- Impairment due to illness or injury
Each situation requires different remedial measures, which underlines the need to identify the exact cause of the poor performance.
Steps for dealing with poor performance
Identify the problem: Recognize that an employee is underperforming by comparing their performance to predefined performance standards.
Analyze the causes: Understand the reasons for poor performance before deciding on corrective action.
Identification of poor performance
To determine that an employee is underperforming, it is important to have clear performance measures and to communicate these to the employee. Effective tools include
- Detailed job descriptions: This clearly outlines the expected performance and results of the job.
- Targets: Set realistic and achievable targets, which are particularly useful in sales roles to assess whether an employee is meeting the required standards.
- Quality Controls: Perform quality checks, especially on customer-facing tasks, to ensure service standards are met.
- Competency frameworks: focus on the key behaviors required for competent performance.
Set clear goals
- Informal meeting: Discuss performance issues with the employee, outline areas where performance has slipped and agree targets and a review date.
- Performance review: Assessment of improvements at the time of the review. Depending on the degree of improvement:
- Significant improvement: No further measures may be necessary.
- Partial improvement: Identify the areas that need further improvement and set another review date.
- No improvement: Consider disciplinary action. Dismissal on the first occurrence should be avoided at all costs unless it is necessary. Ensure fairness by demonstrating that the employee has been given sufficient opportunity to improve.
By following these steps, managers can effectively address and improve poor performance, boosting the overall productivity and well-being of the organization.
Source: www.robertwalters.ch
