‘Tough love’ – How to performance manage an underperforming employee

There are a number of reasons why employers may want to avoid having difficult conversations with their employees:

• Concerns about the implications for future relationships (indicating you may be too close to those employees).
• A lack of time (the process is time-consuming).
• Uncertainty about how to approach the conversation.
• Doubts that the conversation will achieve the desired outcome.
• A desire to avoid confrontation.

Performance expectations should be understood, and issues dealt with promptly

Setting performance expectations and accountabilities for employees is, of course, the employer’s responsibility, but such standards should be reasonable and clearly articulated during the recruitment process.

The role of the principal or office manager is to ensure that employees get their work done right, on time, and with professionalism. Under performance refers, of course, to a failure on the part of the employee to meet the reasonable expectations of the employer.

Take for example the salaried salesperson whose “debit” on their commission account is growing unabated – or the property manager who oversees a decline in the number of properties under management. Time should always be allocated to address such underperformance in a prompt manner.

Consequences of failing to appropriately manage a performance issue

The failure to manage performance issues quickly and effectively can see the problem escalate into a major issue with adverse implications for the business. Some of these implications can be measured in monetary terms, while others are less quantifiable but just as devastating.

If a performance issue is poorly managed, it can potentially result in:

• A termination claim such as unfair dismissal.
• A stress-related claim from a disgruntled employee.
• A decline in productivity (as people become distracted from the “main game”).
• A loss of respect for management (it can send an unwanted message to your good employees that poor performance is acceptable).
• Damage to the reputation of the agency (because people talk).

The right thing to do when effectively managing performance issues

The best way to manage unsatisfactory performance is to do everything possible to ensure it doesn’t happen in the first place! In this regard, employers might consider the following questions:

1. Does the employee clearly understand what is expected, and how you will measure their performance?
2. Does the employee possess the contemporary skills and knowledge to best do their job?
3. Does the employee have the necessary tools/equipment to perform at an optimum level?

Make sure that every position within your agency has specific requirements and, where possible, measurable but realistic standards. Then, when an employee is not meeting the requirements, deal with it immediately.

Approaching the difficult ‘tough love’ conversation

Yes, it’s difficult, it’s not enjoyable and it can be confrontational … but it’s absolutely necessary for reasons previously detailed in this article. So here is my guide to undertaking the tough conversation with an underperforming employee:

• Step 1 – Preparation – gather the evidence and information that you want to raise with the employee and make appropriate notes to ensure you raise all your concerns.
• Step 2 – Arrange a meeting and invitation to employee – meetings should be held having given reasonable notice and in a location away from prying eyes and ears, such as in a meeting room or a closed office. The invitation should include the opportunity for the employee to have a support person in attendance.
• Step 3 – Conducting the meeting – at the outset, you should explain the purpose of the meeting and the roles of each participant. For example, where the employee opts to have a support person, you need to remind them that their role is to support the employee and not to act as their advocate.
• Step 4 – During the meeting – take the employee through the concerns you have and provide them with an opportunity to respond to each. For example, if it is about an underperforming salesperson, it should be relatively straightforward to present the sales figures, have the employee provide their response, and agree on what level of performance will be deemed satisfactory. Consider ways in which the employee could improve their performance/conduct and suggest options to assist with the improvement.
• Step 5 – At the end of the meeting – before the meeting concludes, you should reinforce your concerns with the employee and what your expectations are moving forward. You will need to clearly set out the level of performance/conduct that they are expected to achieve.
• Step 6 – After the meeting – Where the meeting does not result in a warning, you need to minute the meeting and the agreed next steps. A copy of this should be provided to the employee and a copy placed on their employee file. Where you determine that the employee’s performance or conduct is serious enough to issue a “written warning”, you should provide this as soon as possible after the meeting (but not at it) together with the agreed actions to improve performance.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The management of an employee’s performance or conduct is perhaps the most difficult task that employers are forced to confront. My strong advice is to address issues of underperformance in a prompt, structured and consistent manner.

Never avoid having the “tough love” conversation with employees where this is warranted. The potential benefits of addressing problematic performance or conduct early will outweigh any momentary discomfort or disappointment to either the employer or employee.

Bryan Wilcox is the CEO of the Real Estate Employers’ Federation.