Is it poor employee performance or poor behavior?

When business is good we tend to overlook marginal performance and poor behavior. The old adage- sales hides all sins – can not be a part of any business striving to be successful today.

Good employee performance should be rewarded regularly and loudly, while poor performance or poor behavior should be addressed discretely and swiftly. Many people often mistake poor performance with poor behavior.

As described in an article at http://www.labourguide.co.za/poor_performance.htm

Poor Performance looks at whether the job, which the employee is being paid to do, is being done properly. Poor behavior – relates to misconduct- deliberate disregard proper professional conduct.

So how do you define poor performance?

• Is the output sufficient?
• Is the quality acceptable?
• Are company operating procedures being followed?
• Are costs kept within budget or is the amount of rejects unacceptably high?
• Is the effort put in by the employee sufficient?
• Is it perhaps inability to do the job at the required level – can the employee perform satisfactorily at a lower level?
• Is just plain incompetence? I.e. not insufficient effort, but a clearly a lack of ability to do the job?
• Is it carelessness – lack of attention to detail?
• Is it a form of negligence but not misconduct? In other words “I don’t care.”

Management’s responsibility:

• Respond in reasonable time frame
• Be specific about the problem and the solution- let them help this to determine – TFU
• Establish cause- personal life issues, internal company issues
• Investigation- Determine if systemic issues exist
• Discussion with the employee- reiterate expectations in writing
• Counseling meeting – not punishment- assist them to recognize and overcome the problem
• Training – retraining
• Find a mutually acceptable way of dealing with it
• Follow up
• At the end of the counseling session, the employee must be warned of the consequences of failure to improve where such warning is appropriate.
• Bear in mind that the aim of the counseling session is not to punish the employee, but to notify an employee of the need to improve their performance.

Defining misconduct or poor behavior (relation to company rules, policies and procedures)

• Stealing
• Assault
• Swearing at a customer
• Disruptive behavior
• Blatant disregard for company policy or procedures

An example might be an employee is never absent and performs well but the employee is caught stealing… blatant misconduct issue.

Management’s Responsibility

• Respond immediately
• Investigate thoroughly- write exact account
• Determine punitive action
• Make decision quickly
• Misconduct usually results in immediate and severe disciplinary action – perhaps even dismissal.

The surest way to erode your credibility, respect and profits with your employees, boss and most importantly, customers and clients is to ignore poor behavior and employee performance issues.Making every employee and manager aware of your written guidelines in your policy and procedure manual assures everyone understands the critical nature of their proper behavior and performance. it sets the expectations necessary to ensure sustainable productivity and efficiency that drive excellent customer service and growing profits..

If you are in doubt as to how to respond to people issues, get good outside help from a trusted adviser, business coach or a friend with an unbiased view. Working with a good business coach is a great way to stay ahead of the competition both in the growth of you and your people and the growth of your business.

To your continued success,

Coach Nancy

Does it ever seem like there is more “scheme” work than teamwork in your healthcare organization? Are your folks working in silos? I receive so many calls asking for help to improve teamwork in organizations. There seems to be a constant theme of tell tale signs when teamwork isn’t working hospitals and medical offices. Want to fix the problems…

Before being hired by the CEO of a  medium sized health care facility last year, I asked him to tell me why he thought his employees weren’t working as a team. His first response was he constantly hears the bickering, the blaming, and the finger pointing from his nurses, physicians and even in the administrative departments. The poor team behavior was pervasive at all levels, even  his executive staff. He didn’t have the time nor want to handle all the nonsense.

What impact was this having  in the organization? On the financial side – profits were down, the people side- performance was mediocre,  while most importantly, on the customer service side – negative patient surveys were increasing. No wonder profits were down!

Management should consider these  critical MUST DO’s  for teamwork performance  to improve.

• The entire staff must know, believe, and live the company’s clearly defined vision/mission,  while demonstrating the behaviors necessary to uphold the values which drive a successful company. Where are we going? Why are we going there? How will we get there?  How will we know when we get there?

• Establish TEAM goals – not just individual and department goals. Link employee recognition, bonuses and promotions to the achievement of  team goals.

• Communicate-communicate- communicate. Don’t just inform people. Rather, engage  them in the communications to elicit better ideas so they want to have ownership in improving results.

• Favoritism, whether perceived or real, can not be tolerated at any level of management. Avoid taking sides by ensuring employees know you find value in everyone. Otherwise, why are they still working for you?  Hint: this is demonstrated by your behavior,  not just proclamation.

• Good leaders know how to ask questions instead of always giving solutions.These is particularly important when an employee blames someone else for their own lack of performance.

• Trust employees to do what is expected while mentoring them how to resolve issues amongst themselves. Don’t take their monkey and whatever you do- steer clear of micro managing.

Notice all of these critical aspects start with management – not employees. All the employee teamwork “training” in the world will not overcome poor leadership skills or management practices.

Need to improve teamwork? Determine what part you own in that and then involve your team in fixing it.

Share ways you think I could help people improve teamwork? What has worked for you?

Coach Nancy

Think back to the days when you first started working for someone and try to remember what it was that made you so excited about working for that person in that business. Many might say, I just needed a summer job. Others would say I loved working there because….. you fill in the blank.

If you loved working for that special boss, chances are it was not necessarily because of the massive amount of money you made. Heck, you were in high school with few marketable job skills! Most logically you liked working there because the boss made you feel important or valuable in someway.

What is it that good leaders do to make  employees feel important and valued? How do they get their employees as excited about their business as they are? That is the $64,000 question every executive, business owner, manager, department head and supervisor should ask on a regular basis. After all, it is not simply a product or service that brings people in to do business with you. How many of your competitors have the same product and pledge they too provide outstanding customer service? What will make your business different are the people who work with and for you IN the business.

The primary responsibility of all executives and management at any level is to train, motivate, engage, and mentor their people to be different than the competitor’s employees down the street. It is to help them be as excited about the positive results of your business as you are.

That is easier said than done, in many cases,  because the person responsible for motivating and mentoring hasn’t been properly trained to do such a critical aspect of their job. How many companies take their best widget maker and make them a manager of other widget makers and see results fail? Notice I did not say see the manager fail. That is because companies never take the time to train their people how to be motivating leaders of people and organized managers of processes. Many times there are no processes for the executive or manager to follow so they make it up and hope for the best. Well, hope is not a strategy.

Engaging employees to want to do what a leader needs done is a leadership skill that people must develop to be successful. Most experts agree leadership skills are learned and developed. So what are some of those leadership skills executives and managers can develop to get their people as excited about their business as they are?

1.    Ask employees for their opinions on how things could be done more effectively.

Then follow up and acknowledge their successes as their suggestions are implemented.

2.    Give employees the credit. Period  -  end of story.
Employees make the difference in a successful business as they are the one providing the extraordinary service everyone talks about.

3.   Present clear expectations then trust employees to do the right thing.
Micro management is the number one de – motivating and devaluing behavior a manager, at any level, can do to a person in any walk of life.

4.    Allow everyone to make mistakes.
We learn more from our mistakes as long as we don’t repeat them often.
Give employees the opportunity to try new things a new way. Successful leaders are not surprised at how innovation promotes engagement and enthusiasm. They encourage innovation.

5.    Train and retrain ALL employees from day one.
People will do a much better job and be much more engaged when they thoroughly understand what is to be done and how. The training should include their job functions as well as conflict resolutions and decision making.
Enlist outside expertise like a Certified Business Coach to help with  communication and leadership skills as well.

6.    WALK THE WALK AND TALK THE TALK.
Be the example all employees would WANT to emulate. Positive leadership drives employee enthusiasm. If managers want people more engaged and excited about the business, give them good reason to be.

All successful business managers must keep in mind that employees are a company’s greatest assets. Their collective ideas, feedback and enthusiasm for what they do can help business grow and succeed. People require the guidance of skilled managers and leaders who seek their ideas, ask for feedback and generate enthusiasm in order to have a sense of purpose and energy about what they do.

What will you do differently to increase your profitability by getting your employees as enthused about your business as you are?

How much more productive and efficient might your business be if everyone loved playing on the team?

Can you afford NOT to get everyone on board with consistent enthusiastic involvement?

Need someone to help you come up with ways or to help you get gain back the enthusiasm for your work and company as  the day you first got hired?

Call your Profitable Business Coach, Nancy,  to get back on track and get your folks on track at the same time toward measured success.

To your profitable success,

Coach Nancy

The Profitable Business Coach