Managing Poor Performance Key Points

MANAGING
POOR
PERFORMANCE
THE REAL LEARNING EXPERIENCE
www.reallearning.com.au

PERFORMANCEISN’T
PERMANENT.THEWAY
PEOPLEPERFORMISTHE
ULTIMATEINDICATOROF
YOURPERFORMANCEASA
LEADER.
SIMONTHIESSEN

C1: UNDERSTANDING POOR PERFORMANCE
1.1 Poor performance vs underperformance
Is performance management about poor
performance or underperformance?
Compare each person’s performance to
their own individual benchmark.
Decide which to address by considering
ROE (return on effort). For example, with the
same effort, which will give you a better
return：
Fixing a 20% performance gap with a
previously high achieving five year
veteran
Improving the performance of someone
who has always been mediocre by 20%?
Identifywhoinyourteamis
underperformingorperformingpoorly
Allocateperformancemanagement
prioritiesinproportiontothegreatestgains.
1
2

1.2 Poor performance vs poor behaviour
You should have two major expectations of
every person in your team:
perform well on the task
positive and effective team members.
1
2
Asaleaderyoudeterminewhatisacceptable
inyourteamandthatflowsthroughtomorale,
motivationandengagement– andultimately
teamperformance.

1.3 Cost of underperformance
Morale and motivation
Reduced standards
Loss of customers
Wasted management time
Damages credibility
How much more do good performers produce?
extracted from Dr Nikos Bozionelos, 2009
The opportunity cost of having a 'poor but not
outrageously bad' performer vs a good one could be
the difference between your team achieving
consistent high results and just ‘doing OK’.

HAVING JUST ONE
POOR PERFORMER CAN
DECREASE PERFORMANCE OF
THE WHOLE TEAM BY
30% TO 40%.
Felps et al. 2006 |
How, when, and why bad apples spoil the barrel:
negative group members and dysfunctional groups

C2: REASONS FOR UNDERPERFORMANCE
It's not me it's you.. is it really? - 2.1 Leadership
Thesinglebiggestreasonthat
underperformanceoccursand
persistsisleadership– or,more
accurately,theabsenceofit.
The way leaders lead – their leadership
style – is the biggest influence on the
working climate within a team.
The working climate sends two critical
messages about performance:
What is acceptable
How underperformance is dealt with
1
2
Haveyouestablishedstandardsthat
makeunderperformanceuncomfortable?
Isyourresponsewhenyousee
underperformanceappropriate?

2.2 The Gap Analysis Model
Gap Analysis Model examines the drivers behind underperformance.
A‘onesizefitsall’ approachisdoomedtofailure.Ifyourresponsedoesn’t
matchthecause,itisn’tgoingtowork– especiallyinthelongterm.

2.3 Recruitment
If you have people on your team who are
low on capability and low on motivation
(Can’t Do AND Won’t Do), either you got
them like this or you made them like this.
Our advice is to get clear on your ideal
person – and then think about what the
minimum standard you will accept looks
like. You may not always get the ideal
person but you should never settle for
less than the minimum.
Defineyouridealandminimum
person- technicalskill,
experience, interpersonalstyle
Challengeclichédrequirements:
‘seekingcandidateswithawide
varietyofexperience’; ‘mustbe
deadlineoriented’; and‘mustbea
self-starter.’ Plainlystatewhatis
reallyimportantandgetridoffluff.
Usesituationalquestionsinyour
interviews- describeasituation
andaskcandidateshowthey
wouldrespond
Quickrecruitmenttips
1
2
3

C3: STRATEGIES TO RESPOND TO UNDERPERFORMANCE
3.1 Match your solution to the problem
Following from GAM, respond specifically based on the cause of the underperformance.
RESPONSES
Get rid of the
obstacle, i.e.
change it or accept
performance at the
current level.
Help people realise
they are missing
something
important OR have
the honest and
respected
discussion needed
to create
awareness.
Leadership style is
critical in dealing
with a 'won't do'.
Read on to find out
how to adapt your
leadership style to
suit the
circumstances.
Provide the
required skills,
training, coaching
and mentoring.
Wecan'tstressenoughtofirstidentifythesourceofunderperformance,thenmatchyoursolution
totheproblem.Itmaybeacombinationoffactors,inwhichyoumayneedarangeofstrategies.

3.2 Leadership style
The way you lead creates the climate in which
people decide whether they can get away with
underperformance, and what your likely
response will be.
The six dimensions of organisational climates,
in descending order of significance to level
of performance are:
Standards
Rewards
Team commitment
Clarity
Responsibility
Flexibility
1
2
3
4
5
6
These six factors have a direct impact on the
way people behave. If the climate is
conducive, employees respond to it positively
by trying harder.
When the climate isn’t conducive, people don’t
try as hard. This is often referred to as a lack
of discretionary effort.
Thinkaboutwhatyoucandoineach
climatedimensionthatwillmakea
differenceinyourteam.

3.3 Awkward discussions
Build a stronger basis for serious
conversations with well communicated
performance criteria and regular performance
reviews.
Performance criteria (including interpersonal
measures) are the goals. They tell your
employees what to aim for.
Performance reviews are the goal umpires.
They let the employee know whether the goal
has been scored – or not.
BUT a once a year conversation will not solve
the problem.
The key is to have these conversations
regularly and with a balanced
approach. Have a habit of catching people
doings things right as they are more likely to
respect feedback from you.
We recommend a ratio of 5:1 – find five
reasons to acknowledge, appreciate and
recognise good work for every time you need
to address underperformance.
Asaleaderitisyourjobtohelppeople
performatthehighestpossiblelevel–
andtoholdthemaccountablewhen
theydon’t.

3.4 The fallacy of treading lightly – what happens when a
manager doesn’t act
IF YOU NEVER MAKE ANYONE
UNHAPPY YOU AREN'T DOING
IT RIGHT. (IF THEY ARE ALL
UNHAPPY, ALL OF THE TIME,
YOU PROBABLY STILL AREN'T
DOING IT RIGHT)!
SIMON THIESSEN

3.5 Never make someone comfortable with underperformance
Never,everallowsomeonetobe
comfortablewithpoor
performance.
How can you ethically and legally make
someone uncomfortable? It’s all about
accountability.
Examples include:
increased reporting
reduced discretion or freedom
regular process followups
formal performance management
measures
Aslongasit’srelatedtogetting
themtoperformattherequired
levelandaslongasthatlevelis
reasonable,thenit’safair
process.

3.6 The ‘two uncomfortables’, the three outcomes – and the
one you won’t accept
Thetwouncomfortables:
Moveupormoveout.
Neveraccepthavingthem
stayandnotimprove.

3.7 The rule of two reasonables
The two reasonables:
Am I asking them to do
something that is reasonable?
Am I asking them in a
reasonable way?
1
2
This isn’t an either/ or situation.
You have to tick both boxes.
Examples:
It is not okay to have a calm
discussion asking someone to
work 60 hours a week.
It is not okay to yell and
threaten someone for being late
NOT
reasonable!
Youcanstillhavehigh
expectationsofpeopleand
holdthemaccountableto
thoseexpectations,aslongas
youfulfillthetworeasonables.

3.8 Resolve at the lowest level possible – but know when to
escalate
Maybe it's a good idea to first discuss
the issue over a cup of coffee.
Remember the more formal the
process becomes and the further it is
escalated, the more entrenched it
becomes.
However it is also equally important
to know when to escalate an issue of
poor performance or behaviour – in
particular when there are legal, OH&S
or safety issues.
Find out if your organisation has a
process for you to follow if things get to
this point – and you should be familiar
with exactly what that point is.

3.9 Don’t be held to ransom
Don'tletthefearofconsequencesof
makingpeopleaccountableholdyouto
ransom.
Five ways employees hold power
against their managers:
I'll quit
I'll talk to your manager
I'll go on stress leave
I'll go on sick leave
I'll report that you're bullying me
1
2
3
4
5
Good.
The price of keeping
someone who
consistently
underperforms or
behaves poorly is
higher than replacing
them.
Quit? I'lltalktoyour
manager
Meet with your
manager first
and get agreement
that they will back
you up.
Stressleave&
sickleave
Have a well
documented process
of how you hold
people reasonably
accountable for their
performance. There
would be a limited
period for which they
can claim leave.
Reportingbully
You shouldn't be
afraid as long as
you fulfill the two
reasonables. It IS
NOT bullying to ask
someone to do their
job properly as long
as you are
reasonable.
How to
tackle
them

A final word.
They chose the game.
You might not be comfortable with
managing poor performance, but the
employee chose the game when they
decided to underperform.
By holding people accountable, you
give them the opportunity to be what
they can and should be. With strong
performance management, you will
develop many more people than you
will dismiss.
As a leader, you have a clear choice:
duck the awkward moments or give
people the opportunity to grow.
That’s your choice, your obligation as a
leader is to give your people theirs.

Like our summary?
Download the full
version of our ebook
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Completewithworksheets,case
studies,andspecificquestionsto
helpyoutakethenextstepsin
ManagingPoorPerformance.
www.reallearning.com.au | simon@reallearning.com.au | 613 6229 8302 (Int'l)

Managing Poor Performance Key Points

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Managing Poor Performance Key Points