# How to manage Poor Preformance in a new employee?



## GreatDane (25 Apr 2005)

Hi

I was not entirely sure which forum to post this in, but given this is job related I figued it would extend to various Human Resources issues also 

I wanted to get a few views on the following scenario please:

New employee hired about 6-9 months ago, headhunted from a rival orgisation due to strong reputation, did a great interview, referances were excellent etc etc.

Having given the employee a reasonable timeframe to settle into the new organisation, you find she / he is not working out as well as was anticipated.  Both you & the employee are aware of the fact that things are not going aswell as planned, having both had previous "brief & informal" chats about the situation.

Your now faced with having to motivate the employee & get better results out of them, you can't just fire them, you can't immediately transfer or demote them.  You also need to consider the risks associated with stress -vs- poor performance.

All help much appreciated.

Cheers

G>


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## ClubMan (25 Apr 2005)

*Re: Staff Motivation*

Does the employee agree with the employer that s/he is underperforming?

What does each party (employee and employer) attribute the alleged underperformance to?


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## Doodle (25 Apr 2005)

*Re: Staff Motivation*

You need to address the underlying causes.

Is the person not up to the tasks they're being given (in which case training shouls be provided)  or is it the case that they have the necessary skills but are not applying them in the way you'd like.

If they were headhunted, I'm assuming they were identified as having the skills you neeed to fill the position and that they displayed the necessary personal characteristics (if not why did you headhunt them?).

If they had these skills, it seems that the problem relates to working for the new organisation in particular, in which case you'll need to discuss the matter formally with the person - that means dedicating time to the issue - no informal chats, etc.  It's reasonable for you as amanager to find out why poor performance is occuring and where necessary to do something about it. 

But in rasing the issue, you need to be specific about what your expcetations of the post are verus what the person is doing.  It may be something that can be sorted easily but until you discuss it formally, you're just speculating. 

It's not easy confronting staff in these circumstances, but you'll probably both be glad you had the talk.  Go on - take the bull by the horns!


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## ninsaga (25 Apr 2005)

*Re: Staff Motivation*

G, Some q's that may help root out the problems....
Have You/employee determined anything in these chats. 
Is the job within this persons capabilities or not
Does the person find the job challenging/rewarding (if so how?) or is it not challenging enough for them? Or are they overwhelmed by it all and that this in itself is the demotivating factor
You mention stress - is this person visibly stressed?
Try to answer some of these. Time then to sit down with the person again & take a straight approach - most people prefer someone being straight with them. Let them know your thoughts & that you are anxious to resolve. Ask them to provide their opinion on how they are performing (if they think they are doing a fantastic job then that's a whole other topic!).
Try to determine factors that may be influencing their performance ie. is it work or personal related. If work then is it the environment/ other people/ not what they expected/rewards/challenges...try to agree some goals for review over the coming weeks/months. Let the person know that they are valued (only is that is truely the case!)....anyways just some thought provokers. Be sure to keep all informed.

ninsaga


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## sluice44 (27 Apr 2005)

*Re: Staff Motivation*

Hi G,
You may have to take decisive action and get rid of the person.  Don't know if you're self-employed or a manager with targets.  But your bank manager (if you're self-employed) or your boss (if you've targets) won't be sympathetic if you fail and your excuse is that you spent too much time on employee X rather than your real duties.

Getting rid of someone is difficult so do some research on it.


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## Unregistered (28 Apr 2005)

*Re: Staff Motivation*



			
				sluice44 said:
			
		

> Getting rid of someone is difficult so do some research on it.




Getting rid of someone is easy within the first 12 months.  After that it's practically impossible.


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## Unregistered (28 Apr 2005)

Im not being smart or anything but you should have had a probationary period in their initial contract before making them permanent.

Ive removed many people for poor performance over the years by monitoring them closly during their initial 3 months or so.


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## ajapale (28 Apr 2005)

I might be wrong but as I understand it, G>'s problem is that his company has expended considerable time and effort recruiting an employee, someone who he was hoping would be perform and be an asset to the company. I get the impression that the individual was a good performer in his old (rival) company.

G>, If you think your judgement was wrong and that the individual is incapable or unwilling to perform then you should cut your losses as advised above and let the employee go. You should however follow procdures. You should also review your recruitment procedure to ensure that you dont make the same mistake again.

If on the other hand you think that your judgement was correct and that the individual is capable and willing then you have to look to yourself and your managers for the answers. Have you thought about introducing a formal (or informal) performance management system. These are sometimes called MBO (Management by Objectives)?

ajapale


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## GreatDane (28 Apr 2005)

*Re: Staff Motivation*



			
				ClubMan said:
			
		

> Does the employee agree with the employer that s/he is underperforming?
> 
> What does each party (employee and employer) attribute the alleged underperformance to?


 
Hi

Yes both sides acknowledge, things are not going aswell as they had hoped.

Employee feels its due to:

poor training of their more jnr staff, high turnover, lack of motivation, differnt methods of doing things to her former employer


Employer feels its due to:

partly the above, but equally, a lack of performance by the employee


Cheers

G>


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## GreatDane (28 Apr 2005)

*Re: Staff Motivation*



			
				ninsaga said:
			
		

> G, Some q's that may help root out the problems....
> Have You/employee determined anything in these chats.
> Is the job within this persons capabilities or not
> Does the person find the job challenging/rewarding (if so how?) or is it not challenging enough for them? Or are they overwhelmed by it all and that this in itself is the demotivating factor
> ...


 
Hi

Thanks for the above, I guess I've covered a couple of the questions in the response to Clubman above, but also:

- individual did very well in the same position, at another competing company ... a few less staff, but otherwise, just proceedure differences

- individual definitely has the incentives, it was hard to get her to move from the last place, we had to offer all sorts ... both financial rewards and other, non cash incentives she was looking for

Cheers

G>


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## GreatDane (28 Apr 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> Im not being smart or anything but you should have had a probationary period in their initial contract before making them permanent.
> 
> Ive removed many people for poor performance over the years by monitoring them closly during their initial 3 months or so.


 

Hi

Under normal circumstances, I would agree with you & yes, we would normally have a probation period .. however, this person was very well regarded, had to be poached from a rival organisation etc.

She would not have moved if there was a probation period, to be honest, if roles were reversed neither would I ... so there we have it 

Cheers

G>


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## GreatDane (28 Apr 2005)

ajapale said:
			
		

> I might be wrong but as I understand it, G>'s problem is that his company has expended considerable time and effort recruiting an employee, someone who he was hoping would be perform and be an asset to the company. I get the impression that the individual was a good performer in his old (rival) company.
> 
> G>, If you think your judgement was wrong and that the individual is incapable or unwilling to perform then you should cut your losses as advised above and let the employee go. You should however follow procdures. You should also review your recruitment procedure to ensure that you dont make the same mistake again.
> 
> ...


 
Hi

Your correct in your understanding of the situation.

I do still feel the individual can perform, part of the problem in my mind, seems to be the person is still stuck, psychologically, in her previous work and can't adjust to our ways of doing things.  

Granted, she has responsibility for a few more staff now, but the role is the same etc


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## Unregistered (28 Apr 2005)

It still seems like you see the solution in terms of the employee and that you (as an employer) are unwilling to accept any responsibility.  

If the person was so good that you moved heaven and earth to get him/her, it points to a shortcoming on your (the employer's) side. The person has alluded to a high turnover rate.  If this is true, there's a reason for it that you need to address. Are the rest of their observations reasonable?

Only when you have done everything that could be reasonably expected of you as a good employer, do you have the right to decide that the problem lies with the employee.


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## GreatDane (28 Apr 2005)

As I said above, I consider the cause to be several reasons, including some of the points raised by the employee ... but not entirely.

High Turnover rate is typical for a call centre type set up, many part time workers a mix of students, non-nationals touring such as the Ausies etc etc. 

Point taken about needing to take some responsibility & not just blaming others btw, attempts made to try and help, asked several times if can help with staff, reports, etc etc 

Cheers

G>


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## extopia (29 Apr 2005)

How are you measuring her performance or underperformance exactly?


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## ClubMan (29 Apr 2005)

*Re: Staff Motivation*



			
				Garrettod said:
			
		

> Yes both sides acknowledge, things are not going aswell as they had hoped.
> 
> Employee feels its due to:
> 
> ...



So both parties (employer and employee) agree that it's (at least partly) due to 



> poor training of their more jnr staff, high turnover, lack of motivation, differnt methods of doing things to her former employer



so these are obviously the things to address first and as a matter of urgency. Unless either or both parties are mistaken or not being totally honest.


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## RainyDay (29 Apr 2005)

Garrettod said:
			
		

> She would not have moved if there was a probation period, to be honest, if roles were reversed neither would I ... so there we have it


From my experience, probationary periods are absolutely mandatory in every case - no exceptions. It would be very unusual for a large corporation to agree an exception to this rule. Are probationary periods normal policy? Did she raise an objection to a probationary period? If not, who made the decision not to have a probationary period?

Is there a culture/style mis-match? Is the culture of her old organisation similar to the new organisation?

And one final point - Dublin is a small town - Are you sure you're not breaching any confidentialities with this thread?


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## Janet (29 Apr 2005)

Is there a particular reason she is having problems adjusting to "your" way of doing things?  Have you looked at "her" way of doing things to see if there is any way to improve your own procedures?  Have you discussed with her ways of motivating her staff with a view to enticing more to stay?  Call centre business is very high turnover and the bigger the call centre (in my experience) the higher it can be.  As there is not often room for many people to progress in the same company it can be a difficult situation and, again in my experience, other aspects of working life such as getting on with colleagues and the general atmosphere in the company take on an even more important role.  Are there any other reasons why she may not be getting on as well as you had hoped, for example the general atmosphere in the company.

I have worked in situations where the motivation in the call centre was practically non-existent and in one of those situations things improved immensely following a particular training course in teamwork and communication etc. (PM me if you'd like more details).


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## Unregistered (29 Apr 2005)

RainyDay said:
			
		

> From my experience, probationary periods are absolutely mandatory in every case - no exceptions. It would be very unusual for a large corporation to agree an exception to this rule.



There is no legal obligation to attach a probationary period to an offer of employment.  The reality is that any employee's employment can be terminated within the first twelve months of their employment, regardless of whether any probationary period existed.

Similarly, an agreement between parties to ignore the law (e.g. by agreeing in advance not to terminate employment within a year) would be invalid AFAIK.


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## GreatDane (29 Apr 2005)

RainyDay said:
			
		

> From my experience, probationary periods are absolutely mandatory in every case - no exceptions. It would be very unusual for a large corporation to agree an exception to this rule. Are probationary periods normal policy? Did she raise an objection to a probationary period? If not, who made the decision not to have a probationary period?
> 
> Is there a culture/style mis-match? Is the culture of her old organisation similar to the new organisation?
> 
> And one final point - Dublin is a small town - Are you sure you're not breaching any confidentialities with this thread?


 

Hi

Yes, I'm sure there is no concern about breaking a confldentiality here, its a very long story but basically it's not a problem that concerns me personally ... nor a problem in Dublin, or Ireland for that matter  

.. given I've previously been faced with a somewhat similar situation & never felt I dealt with it perfectly, I was interested for two reasons, (A) to help a friend where I can & (B) to perhaps try and learn a little from some of you here on AAM 

Thanks

G>


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## RainyDay (29 Apr 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> There is no legal obligation to attach a probationary period to an offer of employment.


I wasn't referring to legal obligations. I was referring to corporate HR policies which would typically have mandatory probationary periods.


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## Decani (30 Apr 2005)

You can't expect to take a fish out of one pond and expect it to function in a same way, in a different pond.

There would appear to be a conflict or difference of expectations. As much as you don't like it (although this employee would appear to have made certain things clear), maybe you will have to change your ways to suit this employee. But then, if that's not how you operate, it would be time to part ways. You can probably bet that if they're unhappy, they're already looking for a new job.

So you've to ask yourself how much you want to hang on to this person. If you're willing to listen to their ideas and expectations with a view to fulfilling some or all of them then do it. Otherwise, be prepared to lose this person or, at least, don't depend on them being around for too long. Both ClubMan and Janet suggest that maybe the problem isn't with the employee but with how you run things. Think about it. This employee was highly regard. This would have come about because of the environment they worked in. If you expect that kind of performance from them then prepare to replicate that environment.

At the same time, if making them happy results in you losing what you have, you've got to weigh it all up.


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## 90210 (30 Apr 2005)

This type of scenario is quite common,as the previous poster stated different fish into different ponds.

Is it that the company you work for are very rigid, inflexible and/or narrow minded or is it the new employee who is in this way? 
I once worked for a company who told me that i could never reach my targets and that i was too "cosmopolitan" with my thinking. This had been decided after one year of employment and rested with the fact that A :I would not Kiss butt and B: Work overtime for free and C: Get involved with other memebers of staff socially.
They ended up paying me 6 months salary as a redundancy even though i was only there for just up to one year, otherwsie i was taking an action for unfair dismissal, constructive dismissal and bad faith.
I ended up going elsehwere and making a real success without changing my personality or style. There is two sides here to this story so unless we really knew the backgrounds , we could not make a really informed comment


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