Managing poor employee performance in your company.
It’s not too much of a stretch to say that your staff is the beating heart of your company. The Lombard Accountants team understands that the staff in your core departments must be able to work productively, with the right levels of engagement, motivation and focus. Productivity will be undermined if employees are beginning to habitually underperform, so it’s important that you look for solutions in a speedy and effective manner.
Focusing on the solution, not the problem.
Telling a valued employee that they’re not meeting their performance targets is never an easy task. But a speedy and proactive approach may make your business and morale stronger.
In a scenario where poor performance is holding a member of staff back, it’s important to focus on the solution, not the problem. There are plenty of ways to track employee performance in a modern business. The key is to focus on resolving the issue, rather than dwelling on the stats. Here are some pointers from the Lombard Accountants team to help you get the best from your team.
To deal effectively with poor performance:
- Set clear expectations of performance – if your employees are going to perform to your expected standard, it’s vital that you have agreed upon goals and targets for each role in the team. Having a clear job description – detailing responsibilities, the scope of the role and what’s expected from a performance perspective – helps to clarify expectations on both sides.
- Tackle performance issues early – When you spot a performance issue, deal with it quickly. Talk to the employee in question and give them a chance to respond. It may be that a simple discussion is enough to make them amend or improve their working methods and bring their performance back to an acceptable level.
- Track and record employee performance – Keep a record of each employees’ performance over time. This could be as simple as logging monthly tasks in a spreadsheet, or you could invest in a software team performance solution, to get really granular with your tracking. Armed with this data, you can talk about specific examples of performance issues and help employees measure any improvements.
- Understand employees’ rights and your obligations – it’s critical that you have a good understanding of employment law, and how this affects the rights of your staff (and your requirements as an employer). The sweet spot is to ensure you’re meeting your compliance needs while being fair, honest and transparent about what’s expected of each and every team member.
Communicating effectively and without delay can help your staff achieve your expectations. Lombard Accountants believes that If you have concerns or doubts about an employee’s performance it is important to open a dialogue immediately and not to let the matter dwell.
If you would like to discuss your business needs. Call Lombard Accountants on (01) 678 9960 or email hello@la.ie
For the latest business/practice news, taxation/financial resources and our Newsletter, visit https://la.ie/
