So far in this series, we have looked at agreeing and setting a standard, communicating that standard, how to monitor and measure the performance of your people against that standard, and what to do with the results of the monitoring and measuring. In part 4, we looked at recognising and rewarding people who achieve or exceed the standard, and we touched on what to do if they fall below the standard. In this post, we are going to focus more on what to do with potential poor performers.
The temptation is to leave them alone. No-one enjoys having difficult conversations with their team members. I’ll tell you a story from my past experience as a team leader to help illustrate that. I had a member of my team who was always showing up late for work. He would always apologise, and he worked hard when he did arrive, but I could see that it was annoying the other members of the team. There was no excuse for this guy, he just didn’t like getting up early in the morning. He had admitted as much to me. Eventually, as the other members of the team were getting more frustrated with him for his persistent lateness, and more angry with me for my persistent inaction, my manager intervened. He told me that unless I dealt with the situation, he would. That was the spur that I needed. I asked the offending team member to come for a quiet drink after work one night. I told him that his lateness had come to the attention of my manager, and that we had to resolve the situation. I asked him if he had any ideas, told him that I didn’t want to lose him, but that carrying on as we were wasn’t an option. I asked him if there was anything I could do to help. ‘Not unless you can get me up in the morning’, he replied. That gave me an idea. I offered to telephone him and wake him up at 5 am while I was on my way in to work. In return for that, he would carry out some of my early morning preparation duties, as he would be arriving at work before me. If he didn’t stick to the arrangement, he would be on his own, and we would have no alternative but to take official disciplinary action. It worked. He was late maybe two or three more times in the following two years that we worked together.
Of course, it would have been so much easier if I had tackled the situation earlier. There wouldn’t have been the resentment from other members of the team, which may also have had a negative impact on customer service. People who are feeling angry do not tend to produce the greatest customer experience, no matter how professional they are. So, my lessons from that experience – tackle dysfunctional behaviour early, involve the team member in finding a solution, ask if there is anything you can do to help. Remember also that poor management behaviours will not create a great experience for your employees, or your customers! Shouting at people seldom, if ever, helps. If you have to have a difficult conversation with a member of your team, prepare yourself, think about how you are going to start the conversation and what you want the outcome to be, and remember not to have the conversation just before they are going to serve a customer!
More soon!