How to Address Declining Work Performance

Is your team missing deadlines or struggling to collaborate? Learn how to address declining employee performance with empathy and professionalism in this episode of Light Up Your Business. I, Tammy Hershberger, guide you through identifying the signs and investigating the root causes behind performance issues. Discover practical strategies such as providing additional training, clarifying job expectations, and adjusting workloads to boost team morale and productivity.

Effective feedback is crucial for performance improvement, and this episode covers how to balance positive and negative feedback using the SBI (Situation, Behavior, Impact) method. Get insights on setting actionable goals and the importance of face-to-face interactions for more empathetic conversations. Plus, I share essential business success tips focused on passion, strategic planning, and the virtues of love and faithfulness for a lasting impact on your entrepreneurial journey. Tune in to transform how you manage your team and drive your business forward.

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Chapters

• 0:01 Addressing Employee Performance Decline Strategies
• 7:49 Effective Feedback and Performance Improvement
• 20:46 Business Success Tips and Encouragement

Transcript

Tammy: 0:01

Welcome to the Light Up your Business podcast, the show where we dive deep into the world of small businesses. I'm your host, tTammy Hershberger, and each episode will bring you inspiring stories, expert insights and practical tips to help your small business thrive. Whether you're an entrepreneur just starting out or a seasoned business owner, this podcast is your go-to source for success in the small business world. Let's get started. Two-sorts for success in the small business world. Let's get started. Hi everyone, my name is Tammy Hershberger and I am back with another episode of Light Up your Business podcast. I hope you're all having a lovely day.

Tammy: 0:37

Today I want to talk to you about how we tackle the sensitive issue of declining work performance among our employees and explore effective strategies for addressing it with empathy and professionalism. We're going to identify the root cause, as well as how to provide constructive feedback and support. We'll navigate the complexities of managing performance issues in the workplace and then draw from real-life scenarios to offer you practical tips. And then draw from real-life scenarios to offer you practical tips. This episode offers actionable guidance for managers and leaders who seek to support struggling employees and improve overall team performance. So let's dig right into it. So let's recognize the signs of decline. I mean, I'm sure if you picture your employees and if you have one, that's a bad apple, I'm sure lots of things are coming to your mind right now. So you want to identify when an employee's work performance is on the decline. So a few signs, I mean obviously I think it's kind of always obvious, but some signs are their goals and deadlines are constantly being missed. You know they're not getting stuff done on time. Jobs are not getting done on time. They're not hitting any of the goals that you're setting for them. They have misaligned organizational and employee values, so like they're arguing with their employees, they don't agree with the vision for the company. You know they don't do things the way you ask them to do it. All these different things. They have an unwillingness to collaborate with others. They're not willing to be a team player. They're for themselves and you can tell it Relying on colleagues to complete work. Again, they're not doing their work. They're pushing it onto other people, which then burns out and annoys your other employees. And then they have a disregard for company rules. I've seen that many times in one of my companies I worked or owned. The people wouldn't. They'd lie about doing the truck inspections or they would say they cleaned something and they never did, or they wouldn't do the inventory or whatever. They just had no integrity and they would just do whatever the heck they wanted. So when we talk about investigating the root cause, like what is causing this problem, when you address the employee's declining work performance, it's really important to figure out the root cause of it. This way you are better able to address and resolve the issue.

Tammy: 2:43

Some underlying issues contribute to performance decline. Could be things such as like their workload's way too much. They're overworked. Maybe the job's not a good fit for them, they don't like what they're doing, interpersonal conflict. So they have things happening in their personal life, or maybe even things happening in the company that you don't realize is going on, or they have some kind of personal challenge they're experiencing. So let's kind of dig into some of those common root causes of their declining work performance. So maybe they have a lack of resources and sometimes that's the easiest one to address and it's when your employee's lacking time or money or personal items or supplies that they need to complete the task and then complete it well, right. So dig into it. Did you give them too short of a deadline? Do they not have the budget they need to complete the task and then complete it well, right, so dig into it. Did you give them too short of a deadline? Do they not have the budget they need to complete this task? Maybe they don't have the personnel, maybe they don't have enough help.

Tammy: 3:33

There's always, sometimes, good reason for what's happening, if you dig into it. And if it's not that, then maybe it's a lack of skills, maybe the employees are promoted before they were ready, or they're maybe not trained well enough, and if that's the case, all you need to do is give them extra training or mentor them a little bit. Lack of clarity If they're not clear on what they're supposed to be doing, or what the job expectations are, or the project you know task are, or the deadlines, then the employee can misunderstand what's being asked of them and maybe not perform well. And maybe it's not that they're purposely not performing well. Maybe it's just they don't know what's going on or they don't know what they're supposed to be doing. Maybe it's a lack of appreciation.

Tammy: 4:12

When an employee isn't acknowledged for their good work, they begin to slack off. Even someone that is slacking off, it's important, as a manager, to still recognize them for what they are doing correctly and it can not always it can, but not always help them step up to do a better job. I mean, maybe if you're like you know we're struggling a little here but you're doing really great there, instead of just being, you know, debbie Downer, maybe that'll be enough to kind of get them, you know, to realize like I should be doing something a little different. Then maybe there's burnout and that does happen. When an employee is bored or they're burned out.

Tammy: 4:47

It usually means the talented worker skills they're being underutilized or they have too much on their plate. And this is a sign that, as a leader, you need to help re-engage them. You need to re-energize them by giving them projects you know will be a good fit for them. And then maybe you need to readjust their workload, maybe you need to take some stuff off their plate so that way it feels more manageable manageable for them. And sometimes that happens when you know you're understaffed and everybody's taking on extra work, or someone quits and you all have to take more on, or the budget you know is not looking good, so you have to downsize a little and people take on more work. The problem is and it's not even usually paid. Their pay usually stays the same but, like they're, they're now trying to make you happy and do a good job for you. So they're working more hours with less, you know, less help or less product or less money or whatever, and the pressure's on and then it just gets to be too much. And then maybe it's personal issues.

Tammy: 5:42

There are times when our personal lives impact our professional lives and this is difficult to address because you have to take time to acknowledge it and then see how, as a leader, you can best support your employee to boost their morale and performance at work. You know, when an employee feels supported as a person, they are more likely to show up and thrive within the workplace. And then maybe there's health concerns. When an employee is facing serious health conditions, it's important to remain empathetic and supportive as an employer. Or maybe their family members are facing maybe their wife or their children. It can be a difficult situation to navigate because it's out of the control of you and your employee.

Tammy: 6:16

I think in those cases, open communication and talking to each other to find creative solutions to best support your employee in the business are important. It can be something like turning the job into a hybrid job where they're able to work from home for some days of the week, or maybe the rest of the team could pick up certain tasks for a while to kind of help lighten their load, you know, take the burden off of them. So to find the root cause, there needs to be a conversation with two, three, whoever's involved At least you and the employee, maybe you, the manager and the employee. So let's take a moment to kind of look at that. And then let's talk about constructive feedback, because people need to know what's going on. You don't want to just harp on them, but you've got to give them constructive feedback. So it's important to master the art of giving and receiving constructive feedback.

Tammy: 7:03

For some it may come naturally and others it's not very easy. Right? I'm a communicator. My other business partner was not, and sometimes I don't think he gave feedback because I think he just didn't want to address stuff. He wanted to hide from it, and then I would have to come in and do the challenging part of like let's have this hard conversation now, you know, and if you address stuff early enough, it gets to be. It's sometimes easier because it hasn't gone on so long. There's less resentment, less hard feelings. You know, because, even as an owner, if I watch you do a crap job for long enough, I'm going to have these hard feelings. I'm going to get a little resentful right, and that's why you address stuff early. So let's see where am I? I just lost track where I was. Okay.

Tammy: 7:49

So it says it can be challenging because walking the line of criticism and constructive feedback is quite thin when providing constructive feedback to an employee that has a declining work performance. You need to remember these things, okay. So one is be fair and consistent when managing your team. This will establish trust within your team. You don't want to, you know, be super cool with Jimmy and then be super hard on John and then, when Jimmy's messing up, you're still just hard on John and you don't really have the same rules for Jimmy. Well, that's not going to work because John's going to see that right. So you have to be fair and consistent.

Tammy: 8:18

Have balance in giving positive and negative feedback. Recognize them for when they're doing good, let them know you appreciate them and that you're noticing when things are falling through the cracks. You mentioned that as well, because it tells people that you're paying attention, you're aware, and then the next most important point is stay in the seat as the observer, so state your observation objectively. Let go of any conclusions you may have about the person or the situation and instead listen to what they're saying. Do your best to avoid labeling them as good or bad. We all have bad days. We all have experienced situations that are different for each person, right? So be respectful and objective when communicating. Then you've got to be clear.

Tammy: 9:01

Clear communication is crucial. Workplace conflicts that stem from miscommunication or misunderstandings can be very frustrating. It also is something, as a leader, that we use as a learning opportunity and strive to communicate better with a variety of people. When someone feels clear and knows what's expected, they are more likely to succeed, and it might be helpful to establish, you know, those smart goals for them, so they have actionable steps to help keep them focused and they know if they're doing better or they're not doing better. I find it helpful to collaborate with your employees to develop your action plan or their goals. This way, it's not just you forcing things onto them. They have a say in it, right, and they'll be on the same page as you.

Tammy: 9:45

So there's an SBI method which is kind of interesting. It's called situation, behavior and impact. It's a simple and direct model you can use when giving constructive feedback. So the S stands for situation Describe the situation. Be specific about when and where it occurred. Behavior Describe the observable behavior. Don't assume you know what the other person's thinking. And then the impact Des describe what you thought or felt in reaction to the behavior. So, as a leader, it's important to have these conversations be just that a conversation where both people get to communicate.

Tammy: 10:19

So, after you use the sbi method and provide feedback, inquire about the employee's intent regarding their behavior or anything they would like to shed light on. This helps you to know and hear the situation from their point of view, because obviously you have your view. You have a view of what happened, the manager has a view of what happened, the employees have a view of what happened and then the person who was involved in it has their own view, and if you don't take time to consider what their view is, you're missing out, because they maybe see it totally different than you. Maybe they see something you don't see. So, as a rule of thumb, when giving constructive feedback, do a face-to-face. It sets the tone that your employee matters and that you genuinely want to hear their side of the story. It gives them a voice. Who doesn't want a voice?

Tammy: 11:02

Even if your job is remote, having a video call where you can see the person is the most effective way to communicate in a difficult conversation. And I can tell you myself I've had some very tough conversations with business partners, employees, my husband, and every time I have those hard conversations over a phone it goes awry because I can't see their face. I say stuff that maybe they don't see, my, that I'm, you know, maybe joking or maybe I'm frustrated or whatever. And I can tell you in my experience those really hard conversations go much better for me. When I'm in person I feel like there's for me there's more compassion and I can see if they're nervous, I can see if they're worked up, I can see if I said something that offended them. I can see if something is moving them right, like I can see it. On a phone you can't see it, and then I can kind of course, correct and be like wait a second, what I said didn't come out right or they didn't take that correctly or they're getting worked up and now I need to address that, and I just do so much better on the phone or I'm sorry, I much better on in person than on the phone and you know, in past conflicts I've had, I've told people that, like I want to talk in person because it goes better for me, like I just it doesn't go well on the phone and sometimes they won't work with me and we do it on the phone and it doesn't go well. And so learn that about yourself and then address it.

Tammy: 12:25

And then you want to offer support and resources. So sometimes it can be that people are underperforming because they need more training. If you're seeing the same issues constantly coming up with different employees, that's a signal to you that you definitely need to invest in more training, because they're all struggling or maybe the trainer is not doing a good job teaching these people. And then maybe you need to pay for employees to attend certain conferences or webinars where they feel like they're better equipped to handle their job. It sometimes boosts morale. So, like leadership classes, management classes, that kind of thing. Also, you can offer resources or referrals for more support, such as counseling services or wellness programs. You know bigger companies can offer that.

Tammy: 13:09

And then you really want to like monitor the progress right, like, are these people making a movement towards better? Are they getting better? So you've now had these hard conversations with the employee. Now you want to monitor their work performance. That's why having like smart goals can help you and your employees see what they need to be doing instead of just having an idea about it right. So you can be like you need to sell five jobs a week, you need to bring in this much revenue, you need to whatever the goal is right, and then you can sit down and be like did you do this, did you do that, did you do that? We do that in coaching with my clients. Sometimes I'm like did you get any of your things done? Because what is the reason you didn't do them? And this is the same thing you can be asking these people that are supposed to be progressing why are we not progressing? Why are we going backwards? Right, it's important to review and check in on their progress. It allows you and your employees to discuss issues that may have arose within the improvement period and then also when an employee feels part of something, they feel seen, they feel valued and they stay more motivated to improve and reach their goals. So, regardless of work performance improvement, it's helpful to establish regular check-ins when we provide people with consistent feedback and communicate openly as a team. It creates an environment where the entire team knows what they can do to improve. However, if there is an issue that needs to be addressed sooner than the next scheduled check-in, then go for it. Get it done now. It's important to be timely when addressing issues. This will help when the mistake happens, so it doesn't happen again. So I want to talk about this really fast.

Tammy: 14:44

Some people I know that I personally work with, they think I'm going to push it off, push it off, we'll talk about later, talk about later, talk about later and hopefully it'll go away. Well, it doesn't. And then you know, there's been times I've had to wait a week for the next meeting and it drives me crazy for a week and I stew on it and stew on it, and stew on it, and then it almost makes it worse because I'vethinked it and for me it's better to just get it out. Let's have a discussion now so I can get it out and move on, because I forgive easy, I will move on, but some stuff cannot be always pushed off. So if you're one of those people push everything off. You got to stop doing that. Face it, be a man, stand up, get it done.

Tammy: 15:26

Then you want to document all these performance conversations, right? Documenting them, including the goals, the actionable plans, follow-up actions. That way it's on paper and every time you meet you can pull it back out and say this is what you said, this is what you did, this is what didn't happen, this is what we need to try next time, right? So if it gets to a point where you have to lay them off, all this is documented. You can show them why this isn't working right.

Tammy: 15:47

It's important to schedule and keep those one-on-one meetings with your employees on a regular basis. So document where the meetings take place, what was discussed within the meeting, any personal matters that came up. Make sure they're all confidential you do not want to be sharing these with other people and then document the process so that you, as a leader, you're observing their improvements or lack thereof, and then, from there, you can make informed decisions about what's the best thing to do for your business. And if something is not improving, that's when you can say okay, now I have to make the hard call I'm either going to reprimand you or I'm going to terminate you. And this I mean Dave Ramsey just talked about in the conference I went to this year, like this is something that we have to be serious about, because people push the ball and they don't want to deal with it and it's hurting your company, it's hurting your employees, it's hurting you, it causes stress you don't need so. Depending on how your business is structured, you may need to use additional interventions or maybe there's multiple disciplinary actions before you get to termination, you know, make sure you look at your handbooks, your policies, your whole process so you're doing it correctly, and then you're dealing with it on paper so you have your documentation for your HR.

Tammy: 17:09

You want to remember. You want to cultivate a culture of continuous improvement. I believe that a thriving workplace environment fosters a culture where feedback, growth and development are valued and encouraged. We want our employees to feel like they want to come to work, because there will be a ripple effect out from the overall business to how your customers feel when they come in, to how they're treated by your employees. So for you as a leader, you want to keep a growth mindset at the forefront when dealing with difficult situations. It helps you orient into more of an objective role so you can coach them rather than dictate them, and notice that they're able to be coached, and then give them feedback.

Tammy: 17:44

And remember, if you see improvement in an employee's performance, tell them. It's important to recognize and celebrate those improvements, which will hopefully encourage them to keep up the good work right. Who doesn't want to know when you're doing better? Remember this all fuels that sense of appreciation and the fact that your employees matter. Recognition can go a long way.

Tammy: 18:07

You know I have stories galore. I can tell you the most recent ones I've had with business partners. I will say you know, I'd have these conversations of like this isn't working, this isn't working. And then sometimes it would improve and I would tell them you are, I'm really impressed. And then a few weeks later it would crap out again and it's not working. It's not working and I had this for, excuse me, I had this for a long time and eventually I got to the point where it was like it's not working for me. I can't get this person to change. They were setting goals, we're doing things to try to work with. I'm moving, they're trying to move, and it's just not working. And then it comes to a point where you just say you know, we tried our best, it's not working, and you either walk away from the business, you sell the business.

Tammy: 18:56

Whatever works for you to get yourself out and to make peace. That's what you do. If it's you know an employee, you let them go. So I encourage you to approach performance discussions with empathy and professionalism and focus on support and improvement. Remember to have the grace for yourself as you learn to navigate these difficult situations, as well as the grace for your employees. One key takeaway from the episode today that I want you to remember is to step into the role of an observer rather than the interpreter, so you can strive to let go of the stories or emotions that you have built up towards this person or the situation, which then allow you to handle it more professionally.

Tammy: 19:35

Guys, I want to thank all of you for listening today. I invite you to share your experience and insights on addressing performance issues in the workplace by visiting wwwlightupyourbusinesspodcastcom. I hope this podcast episode offered practical guidance and strategies for you as a manager and leader, navigating declining work performance among employees. Please share this episode with anyone you might think would benefit from it. If you're interested in coming on my podcast, you can contact us through the website I just gave you.

Tammy: 20:05

You know I would love to bring you on talk about your business struggles. You're having blessings. Whatever you have to talk about, I would love to bring that on. Remember to like, share, subscribe all of that good stuff. You can find me on Facebook, iheartradio, apple Podcasts, everywhere, so let other people know about me. Let me know who has interest. You know that has interest in coming on this podcast, who has interest in hearing it. If you have ideas of things you want me to talk about, send those in. I would love to hear them. And then I hope that by exploring these key principles and strategies and real-life examples, you are empowered to address performance issues within your company with empathy and professionalism and focus on support and improvement to really light up your business.

Tammy: 20:46

Hey, thank you all for listening. I will see you guys next time. And remember in the world of business, every success story begins with a passionate dream and ends with a strategic billion dollar handshake. Stay ambitious, stay innovative and keep making those deals that reshape tomorrow. Thank you all for tuning in and until next time, remember. Proverbs 3.3 says let love and faithfulness never leave you. Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. That way, you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. And remember if you like what you heard today, click the follow button so you never miss an episode.