When workers don't perform, coaching one-to-one beats confrontation

Home Channel News, March 6, 2000 by John Farr

When industry managers face poor employee performance these days, they generally fall into two camps: some do nothing until you're ready to explode at the troublesome worker, and some write up the worker with a formalized warning. But there is another action managers should take before grabbing a warning form the first time someone is late to work. Try some one-on-one performance coaching.

The coaching process should go something like this:

* Gather and verify information about performance issues. Don't act on rumors or suppositions and then decide if proceeding is worth your time or worth hassling the employee.

* Meet with the employee and come to some agreement about what has or has not happened.

* Get agreement on whose problem it really is. It's not only yours, but also the employee's because of your limited management choices.

* Ask the employee for possible solutions, such as remedial actions which include his or her help and compliance.

* Evaluate the solutions, agree on the best alternative and on what will happen and when.

* Monitor the employee's progress and provide feedback to correct and/or reinforce.

A detailed approach

Before you can begin to understand this process, let's consider why employees don't do what they're supposed to do. It's human nature for employees to think or do what is rational to them. Usually, they will seek pleasure and avoid pain. They don't do illogical things on purpose.

As a manager, you are not required to be an amateur psychologist. However, you are paid to modify the work-related behavior you can control. And when you reinforce positive actions, they are usually repeated. Actions such as getting to work on time or helping customers find merchandise with a pleasant attitude might be taken for granted. Your workers need to know that you appreciate their positive efforts and everyday performed tasks and not just major accomplishments.

Here is the six-step approach in more detail.

1. Gather and verify performance information. Before you reprimand an apparent problem employee, verify first-hand what has happened. Don't let another employee's word about someone being late to work be your catalyst for confronting someone. Check the facts, and know what, when, how often, etc. Redirecting work behaviors will be a disaster if you accuse someone of something they're really not guilty of. You'll kill their motivation and look foolish to boot. Also, be certain that what you're concerned about is, in the real scheme of business, important enough to discuss. Someone who is tardy by a few minutes for the first time may merit the benefit of a doubt.

2. Assuming you have the facts and the issue is compelling enough (for example, late 10 minutes or more three times their first week), then you should meet with the employee. The first objective at that meeting is to get agreement on what has or hasn't happened. It may just be possible they're not even aware that they've been late that often.

3. In many cases, employees that have problems may see them as your problem and not theirs. After all, you're the one who has to juggle staff to cover late or absentee employees. Other than a few dirty looks from you or their peers, it may not appear to be an issue of urgency requiring their conscious thought. That has to change! Your conversation needs to get them to understand how the actions (e.g., tardiness) affects their peers, the store or certain department operation efficiencies and consequently, the effect on you, the manager.

When they understand all of that, then you want them to appreciate that the company and your bosses evaluate you on your management of company assets which very much includes the people who report to you. Simply stated, you tell them that your management actions have limits and one of them is to not allow employees to continually be late for work shifts. Your goal here is to get their agreement that the problem affects them as well as you. That is, your bosses will demand schedule compliance, and you must do the same. When they understand that, eventually, one of your limited available options could include termination, they should appreciate that the problem is very much theirs as well as yours.

Is this just semantics? No, some employees may feel the boss can do anything or accept anything he or she wants. This is where they need your re-education of their understanding of the situation. Even more compelling to them than the possibility of termination may be to get their understanding of how their work behaviors affect their peers. Most workers will show concern over how they're perceived and accepted by their co-workers.

4. The "ask for solutions" stage puts the obligation of problem solving where it belongs -- with the employee. (Don't take the personal monkeys off employees backs or your office will become a zoo!) Don't just accept from them that they will now magically comply with their work schedule. With enough incidences of tardiness, it could signify that this person needs some help with his or her time management skills. Ask what the worker will do differently to avoid future lateness. The solution may not be merely to get to work on time -- it may be helping the employee to arrive at a change of how he or she gets ready for work and when to start that process. If employees have skills (i.e., good customer skills, excellent product knowledge, etc.), they may be well worth your efforts at helping them organize their lives a wee bit.