React and manage your company’s non performing employees
As an HR professional, understanding mediocre or poor performers goes a long way in correcting a negative behavior at work place. Tackling employees needs and demands requires time and tactics.
People tend to break down when they are loaded with work responsibility at home and in office. Some people manage these situations exceptionally well while some loose hope for any improvement. This results in throwing tantrums on their employer and making them the sole reason for their current sorrows.
The organization looks upon these medium performers as a liability to them and hence do not recognize them nor fire them. These kind of employees are involved in daily management activities and hence do not display or showcase exceptional results which ultimately leads to no career development for them.
Negative Impact on performance
Experts believe that such kind of employees usually ruin the learning, morale and performance of other employees. As it will be difficult for co-workers to escape from such negative impact, it is for the employers to deal with the problem. Experience and common sense says that if such employees are ignored or left to change by themselves, the workplace can soon turn indifferent to the company culture and even start disrespecting it.
Check out the list of things that a low performer does:
Spreads negativity about the organization and its environment. Discusses and talks to co-workers during breaks on the negative side of the organization. Creates an environment of discomfort against company policies and procedures. Handling such kind of employees is a challenge for any present day organization as this behavior tends to disrupt the healthy environment of the company.
Building understanding for employee
Change in the employee behavior needs to be studied by the organizations so they can understand the change in the mindset of its employees. In any new job people start off with enthusiasm however as time passes by they tend to loose their energy and ultimately lands up in an unplanned situation which they cannot handle.
Understanding what has gone wrong in the whole episode is a difficult task for managers to handle. This is because employees are not open to accepting the problem or taking responsibility for mediocrity at work.
Employers face crisis for three reasons:
Dealing with an employee who creates disturbance in the organization is delayed as proper identification of such a person is not an easy task.
The following measures will help employers handle such problems efficiently:
Give opportunity to employees so that they can share their thoughts:
Have an open, serious discussion with the employee. A straight no-nonsense talk can alert the employee in a great deal. Once the employee knows that, as an employer, you are serious about the issue, he/she will share his concerns and speak out. Once, the employee realises that the manager will help him overcome indolence, it is important to brief him about the expectations regarding his progress at work.
You can reward the employee and provide him support to grow in the organization which will result in improvements in his attitude and work responsibilities.
Define Objectives:
Sit with the employee and help him understand what the organization expects out of him and how he can set easy achievable goals for himself in line with the organization’s objectives. Try to recognize any act of positivity which will inturn help in boosting his morale and eradicating negative behavior.
Go to the grass root level:
Need specific training and development programs will definitely put the employee into the next level where they will not only gain confidence and perform better but will also specialize in his current work profile.
Review and feedback is essential:
Once the communication and training bit is done, the manager must review the employee’s work to see for progress or digress. In case of poor performance and unchangeable attitudes, the employee must be warned firmly. It should be clear that disinterested work patterns and attitudes will not be tolerated and will be subjected to further disciplinary action.
Time to say good bye:
Despite of all efforts and help, the employee is reluctant to change his attitude, calls for a serious action from the management which can also lead to a final termination from services. Share your concerns and his drawbacks politely in order to avoid any arguements. Further it is seen that such employees are already prepared for such a decision and they seldom go against it.
What can be concluded?
The take away from such an incident is that the employer conveys to his people how much he values his culture and that he will not compromise on anything and retain its dignity. Further, the organization needs to strengthen its recruitment strategy to avoid hiring people with any negative mindset.
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