Dear Dan: Our business head count is growing, but we have no system for managing employee performance or doing regular reviews. Plus, we have a few under-performers. In short, it’s a mess. What can we do? – Management Mess
Dear Mess: One of the biggest steps forward a small business takes is hiring employees. Whether you have one or 100, becoming an “employer” increases your responsibilities in many ways.
One of the most significant to your business is managing performance. With people, you can’t just push the “on” button and walk away. Setting goals and expectations, tracking and evaluating performance and providing regular reviews are part of the deal.
So is dealing with problems – or more importantly – heading them off before they reach the breaking point. Firing someone is never easy. But there are many things you can do to help the situation before it comes to that point.
Most employers have had workers they consider substandard. They’re not ready to fire them – not yet, anyway – but if something isn’t done, the performance issues are likely to get worse.
The problem is that many business owners or managers 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,” said Jennifer Forgie, managing director at OnPoint Consulting, a firm that specializes in employee management.
These business owners don’t view employee management as an important tool for managing the business. But it is. “When business owners understand that performance management is about achieving business results and not simply an administrative task, they start to provide coaching and feedback and stop rubberstamping year-end reviews,” says Forgie.
Here are some things you can do to keep substandard performance at bay:
1) Paint a clear picture of what “good” performance looks like.
2) Clearly communicate your expectations.
3) Don’t let expertise or revenue production be an employee’s get-out-of-trouble-free card.
4) Don’t delay. Confrontation can be awkward, but it must be done.
5) Provide ongoing coaching and feedback. It’s critical to avoid the annual review trap of providing feedback only once a year.
6) Celebrate small (and big) victories. Recognize progress toward improvement. •
Daniel Kehrer can be reached at
editor@business.com.
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