Dealing with unproductive employees

According to businessdictionary.com, productivity is “a measure of the efficiency of a person, machine, factory, system, etc., in converting inputs into useful outputs”. In most organizations there are employees who do not meet the mark with respect to productivity, which is funny since that is the precise reason they are hired – to be productive in their specific function. When you have to manage a team, you are required to ensure that the persons reporting to you are getting the job done efficiently and effectively. So when persons are not pulling their weight, you have to pull them up. It is difficult to confront and correct persons in situations like this, so here are some tips to help you through and get the work back on track.

1. Be clear about what you want from staff. Sometimes employees start to work by just hitting the ground running; they are unable to exactly define what they have to do. They eventually learn as the days go by, however their duties may never be outlined to them in a proper way. This leaves room for employees to not be clear on their responsibilities, and also room for error, for which you are then accountable. Ensure that you outline what you need employees to do. By doing so, their work can be measured and they can be shown where they fall short when that happens. Formally define their duties via their job description and during performance planning sessions, so that their function is documented appropriately and can be referenced in the future when they have to be assessed.
2. Assign targets and provide incentives. Everyone is different and therefore some people need a different push to work than others. What will motivate this unproductive employee? Following from the previous point, once you have defined goals and targets documented as part of their duties, you can approach them when you see they have not been fulfilling these requirements and advise that disciplinary action can be taken. Most people respond to the prospect of getting a note on their files. If you are in a sales environment, or this employee is not motivated by sanctions, why not try incentives. Bonuses or gifts (where appropriate) can be great motivators to an unproductive member of your team and to the team in general. For example, if you need to complete a project in three months’ time with specific targets for each employee, you can reward them if they complete the project in a shorter space of time, or exceed targets upon the project’s completion. Define the parameters to be rewarded and employees should respond positively with respect to their overall productivity.
3. Provide training. If you believe the employee has potential and can improve, maybe some training in their weak areas would be an option. If they are taking too long to complete work, maybe some time management training will be helpful. If the employee is unable to interact well with clients, try some customer service training. You can also coach and mentor the employee, offering them guidance on how to improve their productivity. Make sure to construct a plan with the employee outlining what you expect to see subsequent to their training, and include a timeframe to review, for example one month or three months. At the end of the period, check in with the employee to see if they have made improvements and take the necessary steps based on that assessment on the way forward. Remember to keep conversations civil, not friendly, and focus on the work and not any personal issues.

You need to maintain high levels of productivity for your company to be successful. Where there are gaps with respect to your team’s outputs, you have to treat with them as soon as they become a problem. Hopefully the above tips can help you to bite the bullet and address that unproductive employee that is keeping your team back. Good luck!

#PeritusSundays #productivity #teamwork #efficiency #training #management #Perituscanhelp