Handling performance issues with employees can be one of the toughest parts of being a manager. When done right, it can reduce frustrations for both the employee and the manager, and open doors for both parties to experience positive change and growth.
By setting clear goals, communicating openly, and giving regular feedback, you can help your team members get back on track and feel more motivated. Here’s a guide to tackling performance problems, starting by setting clear expectations, using SMART goals, consistent coaching, and constructive feedback along the way.
Set Up Clear Company Policies and Standards
Clear policies, procedures, and standards are the backbone of performance management. Setting standards across the company lets everyone know the basics of what’s expected. Companywide policies, procedures, and standards (such as HR policies, Corporate Values, and Standard Operating Procedures) should cover both general expectations for everyone and specific expectations for each staff member’s role.
When these general and specific guidelines are documented and clear, employees know better what they need to live up to and meet which can help avoid misunderstandings from the get-go.
Set Up Personalized Expectations
Individualized goals and responsibilities for each role are essential. Very often people are unclear on what they should be doing. For this reason, as the manager, you want to make sure everybody knows what they are supposed to be doing, how, and why. Here’s how to make it work:
With your staff, sit down and establish what their role responsibilities are, what tasks they need to accomplish, and how they fit into the overall company plan and goals. A well drafted job description can help with this.
Next, define objective goals with your staff. Make sure the goals are easy to understand, realistic, fair, and related to what the employee does daily. Use data-based metrics like KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that make it easier to evaluate and help everybody understand how things are going.
Whenever possible, make the goals SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound). SMART goals help clarify things and help set up clear standards. Instead of telling a sales rep to “increase sales,” set a SMART goal like “increase monthly sales by 10% over the next three months by focusing on follow-ups with potential clients.”
Using SMART goals and KPIs gives employees a clear path and lets you track progress based on real data, making everything more transparent.
Offer Regular, Consistent Feedback
Regular feedback and feed forward are key to keeping employees on the right track. Frequent check-ins give you a chance to address both positive and poor performance in real time. Here’s how to keep feedback useful:
Plan regular check-ins (once a week or twice a month) with your employees to go over goals and discuss progress. These sessions give you both a chance to see where expectations are being met, where they might need help, and where you can ask coaching questions or offer guidance before things become serious issues.
Keep your observations of performance balanced. Each check-in can include both positive feedback on what’s going well and constructive feedback on areas needing improvement. Positive feedback encourages what’s working, and corrective feedback pinpoints what needs to change and where there’s room to grow.
Timely feedback is also important. As soon as you learn about an expectation being missed or a mistake having been made, don’t wait for the check-in; seek out the staff member and let them know about it. Clearly express what has gone wrong, focusing on the action or behavior, not the person, and the impact of the behavior or action.
Stick to Calm, Fact-Based Communication
When poor performance issues pop up, it’s important to stay calm, empathic, and focus on objective facts. Strong emotions can cloud the conversation, making it hard to stay on track. Here are a couple of ways to keep the discussion on point:
It is imperative to describe the behavior or mistake and not make it about the person. Keep it specific to actions rather than personality. Instead of saying, “You’re not committed,” say, “I noticed you missed the last two deadlines, which affected the project.” It is not about blaming or insulting the person.
Remember to focus on the impact by explaining how their actions impact the team, department, or company. This approach helps employees see why improvement is important and how their role fits into the big picture.
Be cognizant of the fact that it can be difficult to hear about mistakes or missteps. Use your empathy skills and if it helps, remind staff that mistakes can be learning opportunities.
As per “The One Minute Manager” by Ken Blanchard, ideally, as managers, we want to model a positive approach to mistakes – one that allows us to laugh at them and learn from them. Of course, laughing at a mistake depends on the mistake that has been made. But you get the point.
Follow Through and When Necessary, Explain Consequences for Not Meeting Goals
Once expectations are set, it’s essential for you to follow through on living up to and holding others to the standards established, in a timely manner.
If necessary, communicate what could happen if goals aren’t met on a regular basis. Talking about consequences might sound harsh, but it’s really about creating clarity. Let the employee know that inferior performance can lead to different steps, such as coaching, training, or an improvement plan. When warranted, clarify the progressive discipline process. The goal isn’t to create fear but rather to make sure everybody understands the importance of improvement and, ultimately living up to company standards. Each interaction you manage should start with this goal of improvement in mind.
Correcting behaviours and poor performance that fall outside of expectations is about balancing empathy with timely, consistent communication. By defining individual goals and offering feedback, managers can create a supportive work environment where employees understand their roles, have what they need to succeed, and feel encouraged to grow. Addressing workplace performance is more than just fixing issues—it’s about creating an environment that lives up to cultural values and inspires everyone to do their best.
Need help applying these principles? We are here to help you, and your business become purposefully successful.
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