Greetings!

Dealing with employees with performance deficiencies can be delicate; clearly communicating the problem, its impact, and your expectations going forward in a manner which inspires performance improvement as opposed to de-motivating staff is the focus of this month's feature article.

Generational differences are often cited in today's workplace; however, there are a number of myths about Millennials discussed below that you my find enlightening.

The Sub-Par Performance Conversation- A Manager's Script

There are many articles which provide valuable information about what performance management is and what it isn't and how to conduct a proper employee evaluation. However, there is not much on how to actually deal with underperformance once identified. Knowing how to have an effective conversation about an employee performance problem is one of the hardest things for any manager to do, new or experienced, and should be taken very seriously for the greatest impact (improving performance).

We often see the a full spectrum of approaches - managers are either too vague and soft or too blunt and harsh. Either method truly fails to reach the desired results of improving performance. However, in the manager's defense, addressing poor performance is something that is not practiced frequently. If you find yourself engaging in these type of conversations often and feel you are an expert - then there may be a larger problem that needs to be investigated! Dan McCarthy of Great Leadership, also agrees that "managers don't get a lot of practice - unlike coaching or listening - so we can't rely on repetition to get good at it." He provides a basic roadmap to follow that works in just about any situation.

Prepare

It's either some objective performance data (sales numbers) or some type of behavioral issue (texting during a meeting). Gather all the data you can - get input from other sources if you can. Then, write an outline of what you want to say and how you want to say it. If it is a serious issue, consider involving the human resources department for guidance and support. Schedule a meeting - allowing an hour - in a private location. There is never a good time to have this kind of conversation but McCarthy suggests a Friday afternoon may be best.

Explain the performance issue.

Forget the friendly small talk - just get to the point. In a calm and conversational manner, explain to the employee what the performance issue or behavior is and why it concerns you. There are a couple models for doing this:

SBR (Situation, Behavior, and Result): "In our meeting this week, you were completely disconnected and texting during the entire session. I had to stop the meeting and recall your attention to the issues embarrassing you in front of your peers."

BFE (Behavior, Feeling, and Effect): "When you were constantly texting and disconnected during our meeting, I felt like you were not interested in what I had to say. That sets a poor example for the rest of the team."

However you do it, you're basically helping the employee understand what exactly you are concerned about and why it concerns you.

Give the employee a chance to give their side of things. Ask them to help you understand how/why this could happen.

The key here is to really listen - for facts. There may be some legitimate reason for the problem - there usually is, at least from the employee's perspective. You do not have to accept or agree with their explanation - but understanding the real underlying causes will help you and the employee do the next step.

That's the whole point of the discussion, to eliminate the causes and make the problem go away. Many managers seem to lose sight of that. This should be a collaborative discussion. In fact, it's best to ask for the employee's ideas on solving the problem first. People support what they create. The employee's idea may not be as good as yours, but they'll be more likely to own it and have success implementing it. If you're not confident the employee's idea is going to work, you can always add your own as an additional idea. The key here is to make sure the employee is committed.

Summarize the action plan, and ask for the employee's commitment. They need to say it to own it. Then make sure to set and agree on a follow-up date to check in on progress. That way, if your original ideas are not working, you can come up with additional ideas. You also let the employee know you're not going to let it slide.

If this is just the first discussion, and not a serious infraction, then there's no need to mention consequences. However, if not, then you'll need to make sure you clearly describe what will happen if there is insufficient improvement in performance or if the behavior does not improve. This is an important aspect of the conversation. Knowing there are consequences, and what they are may be the final catalyst to improve behavior/performance. Try to end on a positive note. Do not say things that you don't mean. Honesty is the best policy.

Document, document, document

Document the discussion, and keep it in your employee file. Then, make sure there's follow-up.

Truthfully, good employees screw up now and then. If you follow this process, you'll get most of them back on track before it gets out of hand.