While working with the manager of a glass bottle manufacturing plant, it became obvious that he was concerned about the performance of Dan, one of his department supervisors. Dan was in charge of the Sand Department. His main responsibility was making sure there was enough high-quality sand for the production department. Dan had been with the company for nearly 30 years and had moved up through the ranks to his current position. The plant manager told me that Dan had not been meeting performance expectations for several years. He also said that he was considering a young lead man for Dan’s position.

The manager was apprehensive about eliminating Dan since he had been with the company so long, came to work on time, had a good attitude, and was very knowledgeable about the glass-making process. He also was concerned about what kind of message it would send to the rest of the employees if he just cut Dan loose after all these years. He knew he had to do something because production and quality were slipping, and the root cause of the problem was in Dan’s department.

Perhaps Dan’s performance issues were partly the fault of the plant manager. I suggested that the plant manager write down what he saw as Dan’s top 10 priorities and asked Dan to do the same. Only six of the 10 items were on both lists and each prioritized differently. After some discussion, Dan said, “My gosh, I finally know what I’m supposed to be doing in my job.” Dan’s department started improving and the plant manager couldn’t have been more pleased.

In this era of limited staffs, constant organizational change, tight budgets, the need for growth, and constantly shifting priorities, managers simply can’t tolerate underperformance. Oftentimes, the first instinct is simply to fire an underperformer. Before taking that step, a few things should be considered:

• Firing and replacing employees is hard to do and is very time consuming. A new employee may take months before they are productive, and it takes a lot of training and time for them to get accustomed to the job.
• You owe it to yourself, the underperformer and the company to get to the root cause of the performance issues. Is it a lack of effort, a lack of skills, or a lack of talent?
• Avoiding the underperformer and working around them won’t get you anywhere, and you’ll constantly be looking for ways to compensate for them.

If underperformers are not dealt with, other employees lose respect for management because going outside the company to replace an employee is a sign of ineffective leadership. Failure to deal with underperformers blocks top performers; they don’t get developed, productivity and morale fall, top performers leave, and you will attract fewer top performers.

People underperform for one of two reasons: Either they can’t do the job or they won’t do the job. If they can’t do the job, the fix is simple – give them the skills or knowledge that they need. Make sure your expectations and priorities are clear, and keep the lines of communication are open.

The second reason is the tougher to deal with, the person who won’t do the job for whatever reason. Why are they so tough to deal with? Sometimes as managers we expect employees to read our minds, change by themselves, copy what others are doing, or just pray that they will “get it”. Other issues with managers themselves include lack of clarity with your own standards and expectations, fear of what Human Resources might say, fear of a confrontation, and being unsure of what to say and how to say it.

The key to dealing effectively and fairly with underperformers is to give them effective feedback on a consistent basis, and link that feedback to a coaching plan. This is not formal, written feedback. It’s about face-to-face performance feedback. The following are 4 steps to make that performance feedback most effective:

• Focus on the facts. Play a videotape back for the employee. Create a picture of their sub-par performance for them. Instead of saying “you never get your budget turned in on time”, say “Last month your budget was three days late. And during the previous three months, it was between three and five days late each month.” Being specific cuts down on the likelihood that the employee will become defensive, and it makes your concern crystal clear.
• Explain the impact. Are you frustrated, angry, disappointed, embarrassed? It is important that they know how the boss feels about how they are doing. They may have no idea they are having this kind of impact on you.
• Explain the impact on the organization. How is morale affected? How is the team affected? Are customers impacted? The underperformer may be shocked by how their behavior is affecting others. This step adds a higher level of importance to their behavior.
• Request improvement. Have the employee come up with a solution. This will result in more ownership for the solution on their part. If it is their improvement plan, they are much more likely to make it happen.

Making this process most effective takes time and effort, but it’s worth it. Regular follow-up and on-going feedback is the essence of good coaching. Don’t expect perfection overnight. Consistent follow-up and coaching will tell you whether there will be a payoff for the company in terms of improved performance. If at some point you feel an employee’s performance will not improve after your feedback and coaching, you may have to part ways. If you get to that point, just make sure that you can look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that you did everything you could to make this person successful.

It is a manager’s responsibility to manage employee performance and behavior. Responsibility for making required changes rests with the employee. In today’s challenging economy and lean organizations, the performance of any single employee matters now more than ever. Effective employees are the only competitive advantage that most companies have.

Steve Schumacher is a management consultant and trainer based in southern California, He has 25 years experience working with mining and other industries throughout North America. Schumacher has written numerous articles about the “people side” of business and on how companies can maximize the productivity, efficiency, commitment and teamwork of their employees.