It's easy to become frustrated by nonperforming employees, but simply stewing won't get that individual to start doing work. Instead, it's vital to communicate regularly with employees so that you understand what factors are contributing to their performance. When employees understand what's expected of them and feel that they're valued, they're likely to begin making better contributions to your company.
Instructions
1. Work with managers to identify the ways that the employees beneath them contribute to general company goals, then communicate those goals to your employees. It's difficult for employees to know what to aim for if you don't set realistic goals for them to reach. By setting expectations clearly, nonperforming employees will see their role in your company's success and may become more invested in their responsibilities. If not, you can use the target goals as a way of explaining in what ways the employee must improve during evaluations.
2. Conduct regular check-in evaluation meetings with your employees. Having these meetings as markers helps to keep employees on track, and it's a good temperature check for understanding why an employee may be underperforming. Rather than using these meetings solely to point out the ways that an employee isn't performing, you may point out that you're concerned about the lack of performance and ask if there are any factors that are affecting his ability to do his job. He may be undergoing a personal crisis or having difficulty interacting with members of his team. By communicating effectively, you may be able to work together to understand and eliminate the root cause of the employee's poor performance. As a side benefit, your open communication may also gain the employee's respect.
3. Give an underperforming employee new tasks that are aligned with his interests and strengths. Boredom can lead to poor performance, and new responsibilities may be the key to helping him flourish within your company. Taking an employee off-site to a coffee shop or other neutral area may help in creating an environment where the employee is comfortable expressing his true interests and ideas for contributions he can make in addition to his current duties.
4. Spend extra time helping a poorly trained employee to improve his skills. Lack of performance may indicate that the employee is having difficulty with the tasks but is too afraid to speak up. If he simply isn't suited for the role, figure out if there's another position in your company in which he would thrive. This may also be a signal that you need to improve your hiring evaluation process or your initial training process.
