HR Doctor - Poor managers and poor performers
HR Doctor Steve Cave highlights the
problem of poor managers and poor performing employees, and
discusses the best way to tackle such issues.
Recent press reports suggest that the Government are going to
increase the qualifying period for claiming unfair dismissal from
one year to two years as a way of encouraging employers to recruit
more people.
There are two reasons why this will not work, firstly the 'no
win, no fee' people who dominate the employment law sector will
simply switch to using the day one rights, such as discrimination,
asserting a statutory right or even using whistle-blowing
legislation! Most of which have no limit to the levels of
compensation, and the judicial system seems to have no appetite or
backbone to stopping. Employers do predominantly win these cases
but it costs them thousand of pounds in legal costs. The
alternative for employers is to settle out of court even though
they would likely win the case; many, many employers take this
option.
Secondly, and my main point, is that it is not legislation that
prevents employers from getting rid of poorly performing employees,
no matter what the qualifying period is. The problem is
poor managers, which in many organisations make up
at least 50% of all managers. Their biggest weakness being people
skills.
I am sure that readers can name several managers in your
organisation that may be ok at organising tasks but have not got a
clue when it comes to dealing with people.
You can easily spot them as they regularly use phrases such as
"if you do not like it then you know where the door is", or "just
do it" usually with another word inserted, and I do not mean
please. Their biggest fear is bumping into the 'f' word - FEELINGS
- and despite appearing hard and macho (whether male or female)
they will resist tackling employees on their own to discuss poor
performance. The end result is that poor
performers are accommodated. I have even known of poor
performers who were promoted as it was the only way that the
manager could think of to get rid of them.
If you are a manager that does not like tackling poor performers
then here are some tips:
- The consequences of doing nothing are that standards will be
lowered throughout the company and ultimately, that will pose a
great risk to the company.
- Work out what the standard is that the employee is not
reaching. If you cannot explain it yourself, then you have a
problem.
- Arrange to meet one to one with the employee.
- The meeting has three distinct phases:
The opening, polite but business like, do not
discuss the football or the television. Make it clear that this is
a problem.
The middle bit is a discussion in which the
employee should take responsibility for the problem and suggest
ways of correcting it. Try and avoid telling the employee what to
do! In this phase you should actively listen to what the employee
is saying. You are trying to solve a problem and not just sack an
employee.
Closing, summarise what is going to happen and
what may happen if the employee is unable to reach the standard
required. Make sure you have specific dates and that 99% of the
actions are going to be taken by the employee.
- Meet again even if the employee improves. If the standard you
set has not been agreed then the meeting could lead to dismissal.
If you are considering dismissal, then it is best to write to the
employee telling them to attend a meeting, that they can have a
representative and that a possible outcome of the meeting could be
dismissal.
No manager should ever get to the point when they actually enjoy
tackling poor performers; it should always leave you a little
anxious but that is not a reason to do nothing.
If you disagree with me please let me know. If you want to add
more phrases that managers with no people skills are fond of saying
then you can email me on steve@myhrpeople.com