Bite-Size HR: The Eighth Bite

Performance management is a topic

that our clients

have many questions about.

Essentially, it is a process of managing

an employee's underperformance.

Underperformance is

when the employee is not performing

to the standard required

or objective of their role.

Examples of underperformance can include

not meeting

the key performance indicators

or service level agreements.

Not following management

instruction in error,

or could be a lack of understanding,

not performing to the required

standard of the role.

An example of that could be failure

to provide the required level

of customer service.

Performance management

is actually separate

and distinct from misconducts,

capability, redundancy.

Whatever the issue is,

it is important that we do

treat our staff

fairly and consistent in line

with the company's policies

and procedures that you have in place.

Performance management

process is a useful tool in many ways,

especially in encouraging

that learning conversations

in the workplace and giving the employee

the opportunity

to correct their behavior earlier on.

It also aligns employees

to the operational requirements

and establishes that

role clarity within their job.

It can also assist in

identifying any developmental

needs for support,

to provide the employee

to actually correct

their behavior as well.

If you have identified

a performance issue,

the first step is to collect any facts.

It can be in the form of documents,

reports, work summaries

or any other similar item

that reflects the underperformance.

You should

then determine

how serious

the problem is,

how long it has existed, and understand

the gap between what is expected

and what is being delivered.

So once you have a good understanding

of the performance issue,

you can definitely prepare a short

outline of the points

to cover with the employee in a meeting.

It's best to organize a meeting

as soon as possible.

Explain to the employee

the reason for the meeting

just that way

that they are aware of the circumstances

when conducting the meeting.

Ensure that you do provide the employee

with an opportunity to respond

and provide

a reasoning as to why

the poor performance has occurred.

Once you and the employee

are clear on the issues

and expectation,

it's best to move towards a solution.

So like a plan of action in place,

which is also known

as a performance improvement plan.

So other helpful tips

for performance conversations include:

Have a procedurally fair

and consistent process.

Document the process and all discussions

that you’ve had with the employee.

Warn the employee

that their employment is at risk

and could result in termination

of their employment

if there is no sustained improvement.

You can contact our advice team

at any time

during the performance management process

and we can guide you

in terms of next steps and process.