How Can You Manage Employees Who Are Not Performing Well And Ignorant To Your Organizational Goals?
Get Up And Work Towards Their Improvement
To avoid negative behavior of employees in an organization, HR Manager must understand why they end up performing low in an organization. One needs clear cut strategy and methods to manage this kind of behavior.
Some people can manage stress on account of work pressures, time lines and demands in professional and personal life better as compared to others. However, there are certain people who give up and fail to handle such kind of situations. This ultimately results in loosing interest in job and blaming employer for their failure.
By medium performers I mean that these are those kinds of employees who are neither rewarded by the employer nor can they be laid off from the organization. They have lost the vigor and excitement to perform their duties well hence this results in delayed career growth and new developments for them.
Low Performance
Many people believe that often low performers affect the performance of others who interact or get influenced by them. As all people are working in the same environment avoiding such kind of negative impact will be problematic for others and for the organization to deal as a whole. It is advisable to make such employees feel secluded from the rest which will force them to change their behavior.
Following is the list of activities a deadbeat employee does:
- Spreads negativity about the organization and its environment.
- Discusses and talks to co-workers during breaks on the negative side of the organization.
- Creates an environment of discomfort against company policies and procedures.
Handling such kind of employees is a challenge for any present day organization as this behavior tends to disrupt the healthy environment of the company.
Building Understanding Of An Employee
Organizations need to figure out why there is such kind of behavioral change amongst employees. People tend to get disappointed when they find that things are not turning well for them and that there is nothing great happening for them anywhere.
As an HR Manager you will face difficulty in handling and understanding what has gone wrong with your people. The only reason for this is that people will not openly share with you or take ownership for any shortfalls in their work.
The employers are made victims because of the following:
- Delay in recognizing a panic master who in turn starts to disturb the organizational environment.
Check out the following methods by which you can deal with such problems:
Work towards reducing communication gap by discussions.
Create an open environment culture with employees. Talking to the point will alarm the employee to a greater extent. This will eventually result in getting relevant information from the employee and his issues are addressed before getting spread like a virus. If the employee gets confident that the organization or the HR professional will work towards solving his concerns, he would definitely work towards improving his shortcomings at work.
Recognizing and keeping clear communication to the employee that the negative behavior will not be tolerated in the organization will result in improvements in his job.
Make Goals:
Set goals for employees which are achievable and acceptable and the ways in which they can be conquered. Help the employee to align and change his behavior according to the organization’s mission and appreciate any positive behavior shown by him at workplace. Such small gestures will definitely help in improving employee’s attitude and open a world of opportunities for him.
Go To The Grass Root Level:
Enhance the skills of employees by training and developing them so as to widen their horizon and make them learn the basics of business. People think that they don’t require any training as they are perfect in their job or assignment. However, as an HR Manager one must communicate to them that this will not only hone their skills but will also open future growth opportunities for them.
Do A Timely Review:
After the training program, the HR manager must ensure to evaluate and review the employee’s progress in his job. If the employee is still not performing well he should be alarmed accordingly. Clear cut communication must be made so that the employees are aware that this kind of negative behavior will not be tolerated and can result in any disciplinary action against them.
Bid Him Good bye:
A strict action must be taken against him if he doesn’t change inspite of continuous efforts and help from the HR professional. If things go worse he can also be terminated from his services. In such a scenario, try to avoid any heated arguments and communicate the same to him privately and calmly. Try to be specific in highlighting the major causes which led to such a decision. Clearly tell him that his negative attitude is spoiling the organizational culture and his poor performance is affecting company’s growth. It is seen most of the time that managing such termination is an easy task as these employees are already prepared for the worst.
What Have You Learnt?
The learning or the message that can be sent to other people in the organization from such an episode is obviously two folds, to remain more cautious at the time of hiring any one for the organization and that the culture in the company will never permit any negative behavior to grow.
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[...] Amit Bhagria (aka Young HR Manager) pours a sweet lime soda and asks, How Can You Manage Employees Who Are Not Performing Well and Ignorant To Your Organizational Goals? [...]
“This ultimately results in loosing interest in job and blaming employer for their failure.” – Well this is not true in all cases (personally I have seen that this is not true in 70% of the cases)
Few major reasons might be that
1. The employer did not assign a correct role/responsibility to the employee
2. The employee is not sure about his role/resp. due to frequently changing work/managers not clear about their plans
3. Unfair appraisal
4. Presence of increasing numbers of thriving boot-lickers
5. Not listening/sensitive to the emlpoyee’s needs and what he thinks is a good work culture
What do you guys say?
[Reply]
Hi Sriharsha,
I think point No 1, 2, 3, 5 are majorly because of employer’s ignorance so at the end of the day a person would definitely blame the employer.
Isn’t it?
[Reply]
Vivek Joshi Reply:
October 31st, 2010 at 10:57 pm
@Amit Bhagria,
Hello Sriharsha,
I agree and have experienced the same on this subject. There could be thousand reasons for dissatisfaction but these five are the most common factors and applies to any category from Top to Bottom ( majorly it affects the people in mid level ) and this disease is spreading all over. I read all the interesting comments on the subject and feel Employee dissatisfaction or Negative behavior is always not because of a individual’s self negative outlook, but many a times because of the 5 points previously quoted,people adopt such behavior. It not only affects individual’s personality at workplace but @ personal front too. It is killing people day by day. I feel Old buddies are the root cause of the problem, they have got all the comfort & power to enjoy the show, except exceptions . They are least bothered about succession planning or employee motivation or any other factor. It happened when no body is going to question about it in an organization. This is what I feel on the topic above. Thanks
[Reply]
Amit,
Firstly, I congratulate on your good article.
And, you are correct. But, what I was trying to stress was that the problem of so called negative behaviour of the employee must be equally analyzed between both the employee and the employer. When its time to bid a goodbye to an employee its also mandatory to check whether the manager is the real one to bid goodbye to.
Any “relation” can happen only if there are two entities and analysis of a relation gone wrong must be made on both the entities. So, the HRD must not be inclined to be the devil’s advocate
To reflect on your below lines:
“Some people can manage stress on account of work pressures, time lines and demands in professional and personal life better as compared to others. However, there are certain people who give up and fail to handle such kind of situations. This ultimately results in loosing interest in job and blaming employer for their failure.”
One should be mindful that the under-performers or so called “negative behaviour” is always not because of a person’s self ill-management, but many a times because of the 5 points I have previously quoted. All these have the same symptoms but as you said the HR must be savvy enough to trace the correct source of the issue. Why I say this is the under-current of your article seems to be more in favour of the employer than being an unbiased judge.
Please let me know your thoughts.
[Reply]
Hi Sri,
Thanks for your deep insights on the article. I think there was some disconnect from my end and I got your point pretty clearly now. I agree with you that any relationship can only survive on strong foundations and that it is an equal responsibilty of both the entities for its success.
In any relationship expectation management is an important aspect and hence an HR Manager plays a vital role in this aspect. The judgement must be based on facts and figures and not merely on intuitions. Cultivating talent is an important task performed by an HR Manager, however sometimes this doesn’t work as per his plans.
My point here is that at end of the day, the role of the HR Manager is to channelise the energy of his people in such a manner that it is in line with the business objectives of an organization. If he sees certain deviations he takes charge and tries to eradicate any possible negative behaviour. He is successful most of the times however sometime this behaviour is not rectified and ultimately creates distance between the employee and the employer.
I might sound biased here however I also agree to the point made by you above that one should be mindful that the under-performers or so called “negative behaviour” is always not because of a person’s self ill-management, but many a times because of the 5 points previously quoted. My article comes more of a perspective of people working for a common goal and hovers around sole objective of getting rid of under performers so that an organization as a whole doesn’t suffer.
I appreciate your comments and thoughts.
Amit
[Reply]
Emm.. Ok.
“My article comes more of a perspective of people working for a common goal and hovers around sole objective of getting rid of under performers so that an organization as a whole doesn’t suffer.
”
This line pretty much points at under-performace as an employee not completely understanding the common goal. Just food for thought: why is that so? Is it that the employer isn’t considerate enough/has no time to completely explain what the common goal is to the employee? or, if it’s the employee’s inability to comprehend the bigger picture, then does recruiting the “correct” person play a bigger role than what we thought of? And what is the cost the employer is prepared to pay to avoid the situation in context?
I think these questions are important because lot of costs, both monetary and temporal, are involved, which ultimately contribute negatively to the production/surplus.
Please let me know your thoughts.
Sri
[Reply]
Hi Sri,
I definitely agree to your point that hiring the “correct” person plays a major role. Whenever there is a gap in this, either the employer or the employee has to pay the price for it. I also agree that lot of cost in terms of money and time is involved in the activity and none would like to make such an investment which can lead to any future uncertainty. This can be avoided if you hire the “correct” person. But tell me one thing looking at the current scenario and talent crunch in the industry, how many “correct” person you will find in the market that are willing to work in line your missions and goals. They might be inclined towards your brand, but do they really understand your objectives. Life is full of compromises and most of the times you need to live with this reality.
What the organization can do in such a case is to fill in those gaps by mentoring, training spreading awareness etc. The responsibility lies on the organization in molding an individual as per their goals thereby satisfying their needs and expectations from the organization. You should be cautious while hiring as attention must be paid in hiring a person with the right attitude and that he will culturally fit within your organization. If there is some gap and you were not certain on this, by hiring in such a scenario you are likely to put an individual’s career under threat.
Definitely I veto for a NO HIRE rather than a WRONG HIRE. However, if considerable efforts are made in making an individual understand his role, and still there remains some gap, I would advice both to part ways rather that creating a confused environment which neither is good for the organization nor for the individual.
Amit
[Reply]
Hi,
I am a new bird in this field. I do have a little experience of handling Low Productivity Problem in BPOs/KPOs. As we know, in this segment, the nature of work is monotonous and initially a job that looks very exiting quickly turns up into a dead job. I think this is a neither a fault of and employer not of an employee (I mean none can be claimed for low productivity except exceptions). Here, it is too difficult to keep people motivated and energetic. Employees do get a handsome amount as salary and get all the facilities in the world but still they become frustrated and discouraged soon. If employees can be trained for multiple processes (Probably if they can be crossed trained), their interest can be maintained and can improve their productivity. Apart, few programs can be offered them (As a part of successor planning, Personal Development and Talent Improvement) which can make them feel that they are the future of the organization. I think motivation is the best medication to heal the low productivity issues. Money can show its charm but that lies for a while only but continuous motivation and engaging employees in several supporting activities can do the job.
Please let me know your feedback on this.
[Reply]
Hi Dakshak,
Even if you have little expereince in handling low productivity problem, I appreciate your thought process. Often there is a situation where we find that money is not the whole sole criteria for driving or motivating employees. There are other things a person aspires for like respect, worklife balance, recognition and appreciation for his efforts. In a BPO/KPO process job enrichment is a major concern area. Even if you provide world class facilities to your people, at the end of the day he has to do the same job over and over again.
What you can do here to boost their morale is to ask what your people want. By this you would not waste your efforts in thinking on programs or things for their benefit which eventually they dont appreciate. Get it from the Horse’s mouth. Further by asking them you already have their GO and you may bundle up a progran or initiative in line thier preference. You can ask them taht in the same circumstances (boring work, good money, state of the art infra) what activites will make them feel motivated or rejuvenated for their work. You might receive some wacky answers but be prepared and see how you can make them implementable. By asking them you have already won half of the battle. And they will appreciate you for listening them and helping them to feel good about their job.
If apart from the above point, if some thing else comes in my mind ill pen down for you.
Whats your thought on this?
[Reply]
As much as i agree with your assessions ,I believe HR managers should always be on the look out for those aspects in a working environment which negatively affect performance.Some of these could be unrealistic timelines, deadlines and uninspiring work.In trying to achieve these, employees need to be treated fairly and managers should accept that the level of performance will always differ from individual to individual.Never expect the same level of commitment and performance from everybody.
[Reply]
Dear Amit,
Thank you for your gifted and experienced HR management function. Please dont hesitate to share your ideas.I got lots of information in regarding to HR. Thank you again.
Regards,
Workie
[Reply]
Amit, you are doing a great job. you’re sure building a strong pipeline of HR Managers. keep it up
[Reply]
Dear Amit, can you assist me with materials on competencies for 21st century learning and development
Best Regards
[Reply]
Amit,
What if you are the HR dept and you find yourself in the position of deadbeat employee? After 5 years of trying to deal with the culture of the company I work for I find I may fall into this category. How do you correct that?
Thank-you.
[Reply]
Hi,
It is really an interesting article and comments shared by fellow members.
If at all everything is recieved like money, high infra, better facilities,etc, it should be growth oriented, new learnings, feeling important in the organisation, involving in decision making which give employees to stay in the company instead of doing mundane work. At the end of the tenure, employee will feel that there was no learning or development,if money is the only cause of working.
regards/sivaram
[Reply]