Managing Employee Issues

When working with a team member who is having issues with job performance one concern that leaders often voice is, “Have we done all that we can?” And it’s because of that concern that many business owners keep team members who are not performing, or struggling with their job duties, on their team for longer than they should.

We agree that it’s important for businesses to take an internal look to see if they’ve created the right environment for all team members to thrive, but there also comes a time when that team member needs to step up to the plate. The key is having a way for the company to evaluate if they’ve done what they need to do, because it’s different for each business.

Every business has a unique culture and vision that it needs to live up to when it comes to employee development. While we can’t tell you what that is for you, we can give you a check list that can be used to help determine if the course of action taken with a particular team member is in line with the business’s vision.

That checklist is:

• Does the method of management fit with our:
  • Optimal Outcome (vision statement)
  • Culture Values Statement
  • My Leadership Statement
• Are their job duties and expectations clear?
  • Refer to Position Zoom Charts, Business Activity Guides, and Job Descriptions
• Do they have the resources and materials to complete their job?
• Have we worked to help them with their personal development?
  • Holding Upside Down Meetings
  • Offered coaching, personal development, put together an improvement plan, etc.

You may have additional important business strategies that need to be included in this checklist. You may also have different names for the documents listed above. For instance, we use “Optimal Outcome” as the name for a vision statement. With a few tweaks this checklist can be implemented as a guideline to help leaders within your business stay true to the management style you are striving to achieve.

We find that this works well for many different situations including:

• Training new leaders
• Leaders that have difficulty with conflict
• Leaders that have trouble terminating employees
• Highly emotional situations
• Situations that need to be well documented

If you’re working with an employee on an issue, check out our Employee Issues Guide. This is a great step-by-step system.