Employee underperformance is not a rare phenomenon. Managers grapple with underperforming employees more often than they think. It can even happen to the best employees. It is often just a matter of the severity that differentiates one situation from another. Nonetheless, poor employee performance, left unchecked, can have irreversible repercussions for the organization.

But handling underperforming employees can be tedious. In fact, a study by staffing service provider Robert Half revealed that managers spend about 10 hours every week helping underperformers bounce back. In worse cases, managers spend a longer time doing one-on-ones with these employees, time that could have been spent on more productive tasks.

Still, pursuing improvement plans and coaching underperformers is better than replacing an employee. A study by Gallup found that replacing an employee can range from half to twice the annual salary of the staff member who left. Worse, SHRM data showed that the average time to fill the vacated position is 42 days, a period that may hit the productivity of the remaining members.

When is performance considered ‘poor’

As human beings, employees and even managers would occasionally go on a slump. But slumps usually heal on their own. Give it a few days or a week at most and that team member is back like nothing happened. Employee underperformance, on the other hand, gradually worsens over a period, manifesting itself in the different aspects of work.

Still, underperformance has a spectrum. If an employee is typically a team’s best performer, being an average performer can be considered “underperforming.” Underperformance can also range from just “below the expectations” down to “below the actual standards.” And this is where key performance indicators can come in handy.

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If an employee exhibits prolonged patterns of underperformance, such as absences, tardiness, missing deadlines, poor quality of work, irritable behavior, and sudden lack of communication, among others, a manager can easily go back to the KPIs and pinpoint the aspect of work that seems to be taking a hit with whatever is causing the poor performance.

It is important to have clear signifiers of employee underperformance before making a conversation or crafting solutions. This will help the employee understand the impact of his or her questionable performance, attitudes, and behavior to the organization, and why it is important to tackle and resolve the issue at hand.

In this stage, a manager can also determine if this is a recurring problem. An underperforming employee may have exhibited similar patterns and behaviors in a shorter period before. Having this information allows a manager to think of a conversation starter when he proceeds to have a dialogue with the employee in question.

Why does an employee underperform

There could be a thousand reasons behind an employee’s underperformance, but it often comes from one or two root causes combining to make a huge problem. A study by the Institute for Employment Studies has summarized the potential root causes of employee underperformance into four categories: organizational factors, line-manager factors, human resource factors, and individual factors.

1. Organizational factors

• Workplace culture
• Job design
• Job transitions
• Workload
• Flexibility
• Downsizing

2. Line-manager factors

• Management style
• Coaching and support
• Fairness and consistency
• Leadership engagement

3. Individual factors

• Capability
• Skills
• Behavior
• Attitude
• Absences
• Personal circumstances
• Personal background

4. HR factors

• Selection
• Performance management
• Training and development
• Equal opportunities

Understanding where poor employee performance comes from is critical in providing the best solution moving forward. It may take some time to zero in on the root causes, but with patience and care, an employee will readily open up about the real problems at hand. With this knowledge, a manager will know the people he can tap when he starts creating an effective improvement plan.

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Start with an open dialogue

A manager can theorize all he can, but the only way to know what has been bothering an underperformer is to start an open and honest dialogue. Most underperformers are not comfortable talking about their issues, especially if it’s something personal. Even work-related issues, especially those concerning management or certain work dynamics, can be hard to express for employees.

But the best way to encourage an underperforming employee to open up is to start a dialogue from a place of concern. It is important to show the employee that the conversation is not about reprimanding him, but more about understanding the situation and how the management or the organization as a whole can help.

In the course of the conversation, it is important for managers and employees to agree to work together in slowly improving their performance. Bouncing back is a two-way street that requires the effort of management and the willingness of an employee. It is critical to drive the message that without his willingness to improve, management cannot really help.

It is also necessary to clarify that some issues can be too personal, and the organization can only help within its capabilities. In these situations, management styles will play a role. Empathetic leaders tend to shine in these scenarios as they have the ability to personally give time and energy to be a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on to the employee in need.

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Building an improvement plan

Whether the root of underperformance comes from organizational, HR, individual, or line-manager factors, the way to resolve the issue once and for all is by creating a detailed, realistic, and measurable performance improvement plan. This plan should be a collaborative product between the manager and the employee.

The manager’s job in this situation is to connect the employee to the units within the organization that can help solve the problem. For example, if the root problem of an underperforming employee is the lack of knowledge about certain business operations and strategies relevant to his role, then you may want to tap resource speakers to conduct one-on-one learning sessions with him.

If the problem, on the other hand, stems from personal issues, like mental health and wellbeing, a manager can look at the available leave credits and give the employee a wellness break before starting to work on the stipulations of the performance improvement plan. A manager can even go out of his way by recommending certain affordable mental health services available in the market.

But the thing about the performance improvement plan is that it should be SMART or “specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.” Improvement plans are virtually KPIs that are tailored to address very specific problems to help an underperforming employee bounce back and become productive again.

A manager can start with weekly check-ins, mentoring and coaching the employee if needed, in order to achieve certain outcomes. Peer mentoring and coaching can also be helpful if the employee is not comfortable with a manager closely working with him. The most important task here is to regularly provide feedback – celebrate the small wins and discuss areas of improvement constructively.

Recognizing the nuanced nature of poor performance, from organizational dynamics to individual challenges, enables managers to tailor solutions that address specific root causes. Initiating open dialogues, marked by genuine concern and a commitment to collaboration, forms the foundation for understanding and resolving issues. By fostering a culture of regular feedback, celebrating incremental successes, and providing targeted support, organizations can not only salvage underperforming talents but also cultivate an environment conducive to sustained growth and productivity.