The document provides guidance on managing employees with poor performance. It advises managers to first ensure performance metrics are accurate, then conduct a review to determine the root cause of poor performance. Common causes include lack of understanding of job expectations, lack of training, personal issues, poor job fit, or being a generally poor performer. The manager should address the specific cause, such as providing training or changing job duties. A follow up review checks if performance has improved with the implemented changes. The overall goal is to isolate the real performance issue and handle it to increase productivity.

1. Poor Performance
Managing Your Problem
Employees
Dr. Sunil K. Longani

2. Poor Performance
Managing Your Problem Employees

3. Poor performance in an employee
can be a problem. Here’s how to
manage them so you don’t spend all
your time on it.
You know when you have a poor
performer in your team

4. They do not get the results you expect from
them.
They make more mistakes than others in your
team.
You find yourself spending more time
handling them than your other employees.
If you turn your back on them for too long,
“the wheels fall off”.

5. Be Sure You Are Measuring Their
Results Correctly

6. Don’t go on gut feel with this. Be
sure you have a valid set of
measures that show clearly what the
performance of the employee is.
The poor performance must be
evident in the statistics.

7. Review the Performance

8. Do a performance review. The poor
performance needs to be addressed
as soon as it is obvious. Don’t wait
too long. You will waste more time
with ineffective “handling’ if you
don’t do a review.

9. During the review, your primary goal
is to find out the source of the poor
performance.

10. Why is the Performance Poor?

11. Assuming you have set the job
description, end results and
statistics correctly, there are several
reasons why the performance of an
employee is not up to scratch.

12. The employee has no idea of what is
expected of them.
They are lacking training or knowledge, so are
unable to perform the required tasks.
There is a non-work related problem that is
distracting them from their job.
The employee is not suited to the job.
They are simply a poor performer in anything
they do.

13. Establishing which one of the above
is the actual situation is a matter of
asking questions.

14. “What is it you are trying to produce in your
job?”
“Is there some training that you need to
make it easier to do your job?”
“Do you have a personal problem that is
consuming your attention at the moment?”
“Do you like what you are doing?”
“What changes would have to take place for
you to do better?”

15. How to Handle the Reason for Poor
Performance

16. The employee has no idea of what
is expected of them.
Fix their lack of understanding. Go
over the job description, end results
and statistics with them to make
sure they have a good grasp of the
job.

17. They are lacking training or
knowledge, so are unable to
perform the required tasks.
Get them trained. If another
employee (or yourself) can do this,
fine. If not, organise some external
education for them.

18. There is a non-work related problem that is
distracting them from their job.
You have to tread carefully here. Don’t get
too involved in solving personal problems for
your employees.

19. The employee is not suited to the
job.
Here you have a square peg in a
round hole. They may well be a
potentially valuable asset to your
operation, but if they are poorly
placed, you will not be able to tap
into that potential.

20. They are simply a poor performer in
anything they do.
This is the last resort. If none of the
other reasons for poor performance
fit, you are again faced with an
employee you need to terminate.

21. The Follow-Up Review

22. In the second review, you repeat the whole
process:
Refresh your understanding of the job
description, results and statistics for the job.
Review the statistics for the period since the
last review.
Handle the employee in accordance with
their new statistical level.

23. Conclusion

24. The main reasons for poor performance are:
Job description, end results or statistics not
clear.
Lack of training or knowledge.
Personal problems getting in the way.
Employee is not suited to the job.
They are simply a poor performer in anything
they do.

25. Isolate the real reason from the
above list and then handle the
specific situation. You then have a
good chance of turning poor
performance into valuable
productivity

26. THANK YOU
Dr. Sunil K. Longani
Email: mantrgsystems@gmail.com
Mobile: 9810034328
Website: www.mantrg.com