Scripps Howard
August 31, 2008 01:39 am NEW YORK — All leaders are familiar with employees who exhibit "below standard" performance. You're not ready to fire them — not yet, anyway — but if you don't do something, their performance issues are sure to escalate until they become full-blown problem employees. "Many leaders are hesitant to deal with performance issues, so they send indirect messages and subtle signals, or simply avoid the situation hoping it will go away," says Jennifer Forgie, managing partner at OnPoint Consulting, a firm that specializes in organizational and leadership issues. So why don't some managers deal with performance issues early on? "It appears that they don't always think of performance management as a tool to manage the business and aren't addressing performance issues within that context," says Forgie. This is an extremely pervasive problem: OnPoint's recent study involving 115 HR professionals and 441 line managers found that more than 50 percent of respondents have a negative view of their companies' performance management systems. "When managers understand that performance management is about achieving business results and not simply an administrative task, they regularly start providing coaching and feedback, and they stop rubberstamping year-end reviews," Forgie says. So what can you do to keep below standard performance from snowballing out of control? Paint a clear picture of what "good" performance looks like. In order to be able to pinpoint poor performance, you need to get very clear about what high performance looks like, and translate that into specific behaviors and outcomes. Clearly communicate your expectations. When you're setting goals, it's helpful to clearly state, "Here's what meeting expectations looks like" and "here's what exceeding expectations looks like." Don't let expertise or revenue production be a get-out-of-trouble-free card for the employee. "The biggest challenge for leaders is to take corrective action with an employee who is a top producer but whose behavior is not consistent with company values," says Forgie. Don't delay. Confrontation can be awkward and difficult, but it must be done — it's the only way to prevent performance issues from becoming a problem employee. Provide ongoing coaching and feedback. Give feedback to employees about their progress on goals not just once a year at the annual review, but consistently. Celebrate small victories. Recognize progress toward improvement. While it is important to recognize high performers, it is just as important to recognize all positive behavior.
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