Dealing with Employee Performance Issues

As much as we hate to admit it, employee performance issues are just inevitable in any business. Fortunately, there is something that managers can do to remedy the situation. Unfortunately, however, this method is something that most managers do not commonly practice. This is not because the managers themselves do not have the time to do this method at all. Managers do have the time, and if they are busy dealing with managerial affairs, this is still something managers should take time to do. But this is not the issue at all because most managers actually avoid circumstances that would require them to do this activity. So, what exactly is this activity?

It is the activity of giving the employee or employees concerned feedback that is honest and timely. Let us face it, human as we are, we do not really like to have confrontations. And when you are placed in the scenario to provide feedback that is honest and timely, well, you will have to confront your employee or employees, like it or not. Being the manager in this scene does not necessarily make things easier at all. In fact, being in this position can sometimes make the condition worse. But it comes with the job, and having acquired this job means that you do have the qualities and abilities to carry out this unfortunate part of your job.

If anything, it actually makes it easier to think of the benefits in the broader perspective. If you do not provide feedback to the employees concerned, this would only encourage your employees to continue misbehaving or performing badly. Worse, other employees might come to follow in their footsteps! This would then become a harder scenario to handle! In the long run, the company would be cheated of quality performance the employees originally promised to deliver. And this decrease in quality performance would be manifested on the managerial reports that you yourself would be making. You would be the one left to explain the causes behind this to the big boss. So, the bottom line here is, you would be digging your own hole if you do not provide honest and timely feedback here. The saddest thing about this situation is that you would also be depriving your employees of the chances and opportunities to improve and grow in their respective careers.

So, if you are a bit nervous about handling this, then here are some tips for you. It actually helps to meet the employee in a private setting. Start with the positive comments so that the employee would feel good about himself initially. Slowly go into the negative feedback when the ball starts rolling. Whatever you do, do not yell or threaten the employee. Remember that you are dealing with a person who deserves respect as well.

Never forget to ask the employee for his side of the story. There is that very good chance that the employee is experiencing some personal issues that can contribute to this decrease in employee performance. This is a valid reason, after all. Another great thing about this is that it can easily be remedied by giving the employee sufficient time off the job so that he can deal with these issues accordingly.

Keep these tips in mind when dealing with employee performance, and this difficult scenario can be better dealt with when it arises.