Effective strategies for optimizing team performance

As a manager, you are responsible for the overall output of your team and its impact on the wider business. Addressing employee performance issues promptly and effectively is crucial to minimizing any negative impact on the organization. Swiss recruitment specialist Robert Walters shares some strategies to manage poor performance and tips for implementing them.

Regular appraisals 

When an employee is not meeting performance standards, it is important to identify the underlying causes. Poor performance could be related to:

• Lack of commitment to the role and tasks 
• Inadequate skills or general capability
• Impairment due to illness or injury 

Each situation requires different remedial actions, highlighting the need for accurate identification of the cause of poor performance.

Steps to manage poor performance 

1. Identify the issue: Recognize that an employee is underperforming by comparing their output to predefined performance standards.

2. Analyze the causes: Understand the reasons behind the poor performance before deciding on corrective measures. 

Identifying poor performance

To determine that an employee is underperforming, it is essential to have clear performance measures and communicate these to the employee. Effective tools include: 

• Detailed job descriptions: Clearly outline the expected outputs and outcomes of the role.
• Targets: Set realistic and achievable targets, especially useful in sales roles, to gauge if an employee is meeting the required standards. 
• Quality controls: Implement quality checks, particularly in customer-facing roles, to ensure service standards are met.
• Competency frameworks: Focus on key behaviors necessary for competent performance. 

Setting clear targets

• Informal meeting: Discuss performance issues with the employee, outline areas of decline, and agree on goals and a review date. 
• Review performance: Assess improvements at the review date. Depending on the level of improvement:
• Significant improvement: No further action may be needed. 
• Partial improvement: Identify areas needing further enhancement and set another review date.
• No improvement: Consider disciplinary actions. It is crucial to avoid dismissal for a first occurrence unless necessary. Ensure fairness by demonstrating that the employee was given sufficient opportunities to improve. 

By following these steps, managers can effectively address and improve poor performance, thereby enhancing the overall productivity and health of the organization.

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