At any given moment, there are hundreds of employees at work but not necessarily meeting the expectations. Perhaps a few of those frustrating employees have a professional death wish, but most do not. What you as an employer may not see; they are as frustrated by their performance as you are. It is thus your duty to identify and implement a solution to this problem. First, you must come to terms with the five core reasons some members of your team aren’t performing to your standard.
They simply cannot
If you expect people to do something they cannot do, do not be surprised when they fail. Take a hard look at what you are asking your team members to accomplish each day. If some of them are not meeting your expectations, be sure that those expectations are reasonable. Otherwise, you will need to change the person you task or the tasks.
They don’t know how
Too often, people are thrown into a job with little or no training. They end up learning on the job while winging it. Most of the time this is evident. To avoid this, train people often on systems, processes and desired behaviors. Spend some time thinking about what needs to be completed and in what way.
Also read: Top 6 factors to improve employee productivity
They don’t know they aren’t doing it
Set clear expectations and provide regular feedback. If an employee’s unsatisfactory performance is chronic it is time to schedule a one-on-one meeting to review goals and expectations. Employees should know where they stand within an organization. A failure to tell people when sustained job performance is unsatisfactory is cruel. A failure to document the meeting is neglected. Your direct reports deserve better.
They don’t think it is important
Sometimes people know the rules, and they ignore them because they don’t think the rules are essential. Lead by example. Next, recognize and reward what you want to see, and address any shortcomings on the spot. This doesn’t mean thanking people for doing things they should be doing; rather, it means having standards and sticking to them.
They don’t want to
On rare occasions, you may encounter someone who is capable, trained and operating in a learning environment, but still fails to meet expectations, despite repeated coaching and counseling. There are times when employees are simply not a good fit for a job, and you need to either move them somewhere else in the organization or out of the organization altogether. Be kind, firm and quick to act.
