Managers sometimes shy away from dealing with underperforming employees because of worries about breaching employment legislation or handling difficult conversations.
However, the effects of unsatisfactory performance shouldn’t be underestimated. Are you, or others, spending time each week correcting mistakes made by the same staff member? Or are you losing business because an employee is failing to provide good customer service? Issues like these cause significant disruption. Whilst it takes time to manage an underperforming employee, it will save you time in the long run.
You should feel confident when addressing poor performance so long as you are fair and objective. If you manage an underperforming employee in a constructive and supportive way, you will minimise the chances of him or her being able to claim that you breached the implicit terms of mutual trust and confidence in the contractual relationship.
It’s also very important to address the issues straight away so that, should you need to start a formal process in the future, you have a record of the informal measures you took in the first instance to try and assist the employee in improving his or her performance.
This article will help you understand how to manage underperforming employees in your organisation.
How to manage underperforming employees: Three Informal Steps
1. Communicate expectations
The first question to answer is this: is your employees clear about what is expected of him or her?
Employees are usually unable to claim unfair dismissal within the first two years of employment so you should ensure that you manage an underperforming employee appropriately within this time frame to reduce risks.
In addition, we’d advise you to set a probationary period and spend time during that period monitoring and coaching new staff so any issues can be quickly addressed.
Doing so will give a clear message to employees that you value good performance and will deal firmly with staff who continue to work below expected standards.
If employees understand what’s expected of them, it’s less likely that you will need to manage performance issues a number of years down the line.
Within an effective performance culture, it’s just as important to praise good performance. Employees will feel motivated by a simple ‘thank you’ or ‘well done’ and will strive to maintain or improve their performance if they know that they will receive proper recognition.
2. Monitor and provide feedback to manage poor performance
It is easier to manage an underperforming employee if you have the right kind of systems in place. Probationary policies, appraisal schemes and capability procedures will help with this. Also, a culture where managers and employees are comfortable giving and receiving feedback constructively should be promoted and encouraged.
Our article, Five Ways to Measure Employee Performance, recommends tools you can use to support your performance management processes.
On a day to day basis, it’s fine to praise an employee in front of colleagues but any problems should be addressed in private.
The best way to give employee feedback on poor performance is to remain objective and constructive.
When addressing poor performance, we recommend the following.
- Calmly explain what the issue is and why you are raising it with the employee.
- Stick to the facts – don’t make the issue personal or subjective.
- Describe the consequences or impact of the employee’s behaviour.
- Tell the employee what is expected going forward.
- Ask the employee for their opinion of this assessment of their performance and if they are struggling with anything.
- Provide support or advice where required.
Hopefully, this will prevent any other issues of poor performance arising. Remain supportive, but be clear on how the employee needs to improve. Always be specific – for example, emphasising that the employee needs to follow Procedure A, or needs to complete their work within agreed deadlines.
At this stage it may be enough to keep a note on file regarding your conversation, or to put the discussion in writing to your employee. An email or letter to outline what you have agreed can be very useful to refer to in any later conversations.
3. Performance management just short of formal action
If problems continue, hold another meeting with the employee to discuss the issues in greater depth. Emphasise to the employee that the company is willing to support them or to provide extra training but that the performance gap needs to be filled within a set period of time.
It’s possible that factors outside work are having an effect on the employee. You should also check if there are any work related factors affecting the employee’s performance. If this is the case, you should discuss the issues with the employee and agree a way of resolving the problems as far as is possible.
The purpose of any such meeting should be to produce a list of action points for both the employee and you to follow so that performance can be improved.
Again, the employee should be clear on what needs to be done, by who and by when. We’d advise you to write up the outcome of the meeting and give a copy to the employee so that there can be no argument about what was expected a few weeks down the line if things don’t improve.
These measures enable you to informally manage an underperforming employee by clearly communicating performance expectations. By using these strategies, you will hopefully minimise the risk of having to commence a formal performance improvement or capability process.
However, sometimes informal discussions aren’t enough and you may need to take a formal approach to managing your employee’s poor performance.
The formal process to follow to manage an underperforming employee
The first step in starting a formal process is to identify the correct procedure to follow. You may have a capability or performance management procedure. If not, you should use your disciplinary procedure.
If your underperforming employee has been with you for more than two years, you may decide to follow a shortened version of your procedure.
Whichever procedure you use, ensure that it covers the steps set out in the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures.
As the formal procedure may lead to written warnings and, ultimately, dismissal, you must be careful to respect the employee’s statutory rights and ensure you are fair and objective.
Let’s look at how to deal with an underperforming employee using a formal approach:
Holding a formal meeting
You’ve had informal chats with your employee, given full details of the behaviour required and even provided additional training, but it’s had little impact. The employee’s performance is having an adverse effect on other staff and on the company’s operations. Now it’s time to invite the employee to attend a formal meeting to discuss his or her performance.
The invite letter
When writing the invite letter to the employee, keep in mind the following points.
- Use easy to understand language that communicates the shortfall in the employee’s performance and the impact that this has had on the business.
- Clearly state that the employee is required to attend a formal meeting to discuss his or her performance and that the purpose of the meeting is to consider the employee’s standards of performance.
- Provide the policy/procedure you are using to manage the underperforming employee.
- Include the right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or work colleague.
- Provide copies of any relevant evidence that you have gathered (for example, attendance at training courses, records of customer complaints and details of deadlines missed).
- In conjunction with the above point, outline the dates of informal meetings at which expectations were discussed with the employee.
- Include a statement to explain that, if the employee’s performance is considered to be unacceptable, the employee may receive a written warning.
- Explain in the letter that the employee will have the opportunity to present their case if they disagree with company’s performance assessment or wish to provide mitigating circumstances.
The meeting
At the meeting, you should refrain from using terms that suggest the outcome is already decided. The job of the manager hearing the case is to consider the facts and any presented by the employee, with a view to reaching a decision on whether a formal written warning is appropriate or not.
If a warning is issued, this should be communicated in writing to the employee as quickly as possible. The letter should include the reason(s) for the warning being issued, the right to appeal and, crucially, what the employee is expected to do within certain deadlines to avoid further action being taken.
The employer’s obligations: Continuing to manage the underperforming employee’s performance
Managing underperformance cannot be dealt with in just one meeting. You will need to review the employee’s performance on an ongoing basis. If additional support or training was promised at the formal hearing, this must be carried out or any further formal action may be considered unfair.
Make sure that you keep detailed records of the support that you have provided and the employee’s performance in line with the timelines specified.
If the employee’s performance improves, you may wish to set aside the formal warning before it expires. However, if there is insufficient or no improvement, you will have to organise another formal hearing.
This process should continue until it’s reasonable for a dismissal hearing to be arranged. Ensure you check your policies and keep in line with these when issuing warnings. As a minimum, you should have the following stages:
- First written warning
- Final written warning
- Dismissal
If the employee has been given ample opportunity and support to improve, and all proper procedures have been followed, you should be able to dismiss fairly.
Problems that can complicate the management of an underperforming employee
Sometimes, other factors can complicate things. Here are two examples and suggestions on how to handle them.
1. Disclosure of a disability
The employee may attribute their poor performance to a previously undisclosed health condition or disability. In this case, you should request medical evidence and seek advice on what reasonable adjustments may need to be made.
The employee, of course, will still be expected to achieve a certain level of performance, but the matter would need to be managed very carefully to avoid a disability discrimination claim.
2. Raising a grievance
This can be common at the start of the performance management process. The employee may raise a grievance against the manager who is dealing with the performance issues, making accusations of unfair treatment.
There is no reason why the grievance can’t be managed within the same process as the employee can offer these allegations as a defence, obliging the employer to consider them.
This risk highlights the importance of having a performance culture and not allowing poor performance to remain unaddressed.
How we can help
If you would like support with how to manage underperforming employees, please contact our team on 0330 223 5253 or office@fitzgeraldhr.co.uk.
