Employee Performance Improvement Plan

[Lord Tyrion]

I have an under performing employee at work. It has gone on long enough, too long, my fault. I need them to buck up or move on.


I need to instigate a Performance Improvement Plan to set the wheels in motion. At the end of it we will either have the employee we need, great, or we will replace him. The work is low skilled and perfomance measures will be quite difficult. I will need to do some thinking at this end.


This is the first time I have had to do this. Any advice?

 

[Rooter]

Ensure you involve HR to the meeting when you dish it out, follow every letter of their advice, very easy to get an unfair dismissal case if not done right.

 

[Kellfire]

When I performance manage someone, I must always show that I'm offering extra training in every area that I'm flagging them up as failing. Very frustrating. I assume it's the same for you. If so, document each and every task they're not up to scratch in and record how you are going to help them to improve. Set them a level to be achieving (hard to do in your case it seems) and a reasonable time limit for them to be up to speed. At that stage, we can look into redeployment/dismissal.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Ensure you involve HR to the meeting when you dish it out, follow every letter of their advice, very easy to get an unfair dismissal case if not done right.

Small firm, I am HR as well as most other things . Luckily my sister is a lecturer in law and I run things past her when it gets to that stage. We had an issue a year or so ago and I asked her a question. She asked me to wait whilst she a/ checked with the specialist in employment law at her university b/ checked with a lady who sits in court and judges employment cases who comes in to give occasional lectures. Needless to say I was happy the eventual advice given was solid. Sometimes family members can be very useful.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

When I performance manage someone, I must always show that I'm offering extra training in every area that I'm flagging them up as failing. Very frustrating. I assume it's the same for you. If so, document each and every task they're not up to scratch in and record how you are going to help them to improve. Set them a level to be achieving (hard to do in your case it seems) and a reasonable time limit for them to be up to speed. At that stage, we can look into redeployment/dismissal.

They work on a machine and are given a setting list for each product we make. We don't make many different things so it should be simple to grasp. At the moment they need to ask a colleague each time how to do a, b , c , d. It is all there for them, written down plus the fact that if you do it often enough you should know how to do it without looking. The difficulty for me is how to measure the issue. There is not a target as in make 50 units per day. It is make 50 units without asking questions each time. I don't mind the odd question to make sure they produce the correct item but at the moment it is like training a new employee every day. Every day is Groundhog Day.

Your comments are sound, thanks. I just need to work out how to measure and target the person.

 

[caboose]

Performance management, yay. Managing people is a large part of my role, but my days I wish I didn't have to do it sometimes!

As a starter for 10, what kind of 1:1s do you have with this individual (and the rest of your people for that matter?). Have you asked him how he's getting on, any help he thinks he needs, any development areas he thinks he has?

My rule of thumb is usually to have a relatively honest chat with someone ahead of any kind of measured performance plan. This usually fleshes out problems in a human way, opposed to the necessity of "Delivery X by Y or you're underperforming" and saves a threat response. After that, agreed targets and deadlines.

If you have email, follow everything up in writing (positive and negative) as this gives you evidence to fall back on should you need it.

 

[Khamelion]

Maybe a daft question, but if your employee has written instructions but has to ask a colleague each time a setting has to change, can the employee actually read? I'm not being sarcastic or argumentative but he may not genuinely be able to read and if that is the case I'm not sure how you would approach that.

It could be he is bored and needs something more stimulating to keep productive.

 

[drdel]

I have an under performing employee at work. It has gone on long enough, too long, my fault. I need them to buck up or move on.


I need to instigate a Performance Improvement Plan to set the wheels in motion. At the end of it we will either have the employee we need, great, or we will replace him. The work is low skilled and perfomance measures will be quite difficult. I will need to do some thinking at this end.


This is the first time I have had to do this. Any advice?

Firstly, this ain't the place for such an issue. If you're a manager - manage!

Secondly, you should say exactly what you have just written to said employee and have a sensible and honest discussion about what's best for you, them and the company. Try getting smart and all "HRy" and it will backfire, waste time and set the 'two' sides at loggerheads.

What's wrong with talking to people nowadays - whether a small or large company everybody actually only interacts with a relatively few people if you cant respect for each other in the 'team' you need to look at yourselves as well as the individual who is reckoned to be underperforming. Has anybody spelt out in precise terms what is expected?

 

[MadAdey]

You say it is written down, are the instructions clear enough? Maybe you need to check if he actually understands the written instructions. Do not be like the school teacher that just because a kid doesn't understand, thinks by the same thing louder and louder will help people understand.

I work at HONDA and we have a system that is called 'job coaching'. Basically you take someone into a meeting room and present them with paperwork about what the coaching session is about, but you have an impartial 3rd party there. You explain to them the area that they are lacking in and ensure that they understand. They then sign the paperwork to say that they have received and understood the coaching session.

It's an informal way of giving someone a clip round the ear for not performing, but also at the same time creating a paperwork trail documenting what happened for future use should it be needed.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Maybe a daft question, but if your employee has written instructions but has to ask a colleague each time a setting has to change, can the employee actually read? I'm not being sarcastic or argumentative but he may not genuinely be able to read and if that is the case I'm not sure how you would approach that.

It could be he is bored and needs something more stimulating to keep productive.

Not daft at all. I did think of this early on and we did check that he could read by subtle methods. (my cousin's husband worked for 25 years whilst being unable to read, remarkable but true. He hid it from his employer and the rest of the family only discovered when he moved to a different job and it came out in the open. His experience stuck with me so I am sensitive to this issue) We also simplified the instructions compared to those the other members of staff have worked off to help further. They really do work off idiot guides now.

Your last point is a fair one but that is the job, nothing I can do about that.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Firstly, this ain't the place for such an issue. If you're a manager - manage!

Errmmm. I am asking for friendly advice from those who have been through this before. All of the other employees I have managed have worked perfectly well without getting anywhere close to this stage. This forum is anonymous so it is perfectly safe to ask here

Secondly, you should say exactly what you have just written to said employee and have a sensible and honest discussion about what's best for you, them and the company. Try getting smart and all "HRy" and it will backfire, waste time and set the 'two' sides at loggerheads.

What's wrong with talking to people nowadays - whether a small or large company everybody actually only interacts with a relatively few people if you cant respect for each other in the 'team' you need to look at yourselves as well as the individual who is reckoned to be underperforming. Has anybody spelt out in precise terms what is expected?

You can't just "talk to people nowadays". You can but it has the potential to lead to legal action. You need to act using the correct procedures otherwise you end up forking out money in court. I will chat to him, I will be honest but I will also do it by the book. I want my business to still be here in 6 months time.

 

[Bazz]

So glad I don't manage people anymore. I feel for you LT.

Some people just can't be arsed.

 

[SocketRocket]

Explain your concerns and work out a plan with them that will improve things. Make sure you are supplying all the resources necessary for them to achieve the desired outputs.

 

[Liverbirdie]

I may (or may not) have worked with someone who took 15 minutes to cellotape 3 envelopes shut using a cellotape dispenser, and having shown them twice how to use it.

Had a law degree, also, allegedly.

 

[drdel]

I may (or may not) have worked with someone who took 15 minutes to cellotape 3 envelopes shut using a cellotape dispenser, and having shown them twice how to use it.

Had a law degree, also, allegedly.

And did you bother to ask why they were having issues. Talking is an amazing method of communication sadly overlooked by protection on ones own backside by tortuous email trail.

 

[TreeSeeker]

Do you do yearly objective setting type things with your employees? that is where we would pick up anything like that without it being a "come to my office" type obvious problem about.

 

[Liverbirdie]

And did you bother to ask why they were having issues. Talking is an amazing method of communication sadly overlooked by protection on ones own backside by tortuous email trail.

Yes, showed them twice how to use it in the flesh.

May have even handed them a green tabbard, just in case.

 

[Jamesbrown]

Thought about asking how he is, if he needs help, how he’s coping? Rather than think of him as a number just producing crap, perhaps engage with him off the record.
Getting him in the office will do nothing for his confidence or lack of. Offer to help, as he is a human. Not a robot.
Unless you own the company, remember your also just a number.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I do own the company 😁. We've actually been very accommodating and I've tried the friendly, off the record approach over a period of time. We have reached the point now, imo, where we need to formalise the matter. I'm hoping the jolt will be what he needs but if not then so be it.

 

[bladeplayer]

Not much help to you im afraid . But i sence from ur replys that u already have this persons future decided.. u just realy want to dot ur i's and cross ur t's and want ppl here to say yes u should ..
Im genuinely not having a at go u . i can sence ur at end of tether with this guy..
I was lucky as when i was constantly have to show a guy the same thing over n over in work i just went to the boss and said enough was enough ..
Boss let it and few other things slide .. company closed 2015 . Small companies cant afford the passenger or the litigation

Dont envy u ur dilemma