Top tips to tackle under-performing employees

Although there are no hard and fast rules to tackle under-performing employees, we have put together some top tips to get the most out of the process.

Start early and keep it simple

• Don’t let under-performing employees become the norm.
• Identify the problem – is it skill or will?
• Don’t keep putting it off.
• Keep improvement plans simple and relatively short.
• Don’t keep writing new improvement plans or extending them – make a decision.

Manage it smarter

• Put review dates in your diary so that you don’t miss them.
• Try and do review meetings face to face rather than by phone.
• Be aware of holidays that might get in the way or shorten the timeframes you’ve agreed for improvement.
• Maintain momentum.

Protect your position

• Keep dated notes of conversations.
• Send an email to clarify what was discussed to your team member to ensure there’s a record of the agreed actions.
• In more formal performance improvement cases, it may be necessary to ensure improvement plans are signed by both parties and kept on the employee’s file.

Need additional support with under-performing employees? Book your free 15 minute call or get in touch with our team for advice on how we can help.

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