Managing a Struggling Employee

Do you have a struggling employee on yourwhether the employee is exceeding expectations,
payroll? Here are a few solutions for approachingmeeting expectations, or not meeting
performance management that may help youexpectations.
work through this problem.One way to motivate employees is to award
First, sit down with the employee and discuss histhose who consistently exceed expectations.
or her contributions to the company; emphasizeRaises, bonuses, and gift cards are monetary
how the employee aids in the daily operation ofprizes that any employee will work toward,
the business. This helps the employee rememberimproving his or her performance at the same
that he or she has an important place in thetime.
operation. It's easy to forget our ownAs the employee realizes that his or her value is
contributions when we do the same work in theincreased to the company by keeping up with
same place every day.expectations, he or she will greater understand
Set realistic goals for the employee that, ifthe impact on the company and will continue to
accomplished, will improve on his or herwork hard, even without the promise of rewards.
contributions to the company. Place priority on theThis all ties into some fundamental psychology
tasks that will help the company most in thethat has been known to drive motivation over
shortest amount of time, and make sure thethe years. It's no exception in the workplace and
employee knows that these goals are the mostit's highly recommended if you're looking to get as
important.much mileage out of every one of your
Next, schedule another meeting after some timeemployees as you possibly can.
has passed to look over the employee's recentThroughout this whole process, it's important to
work and to see how things have changed.consider and incorporate the employee's ideas
Evaluate aspects of the employee's work such aswhenever possible. If an employee helps create
quality, quantity, timeliness, and thethe plan for improving his or her own
cost-effectiveness of his or her employment.performance, he or she will be more likely to view
These statistics can be very useful by providing athose goals as realistic and strive to meet them,
mathematical barometer of the employee'saiding the company in the process. Be
performance.sympathetic to their needs and come off as
Don't do all the talking at this meeting; thesincere without being overbearing, and you'll be
employee should also be evaluating his or her ownsure to find success in your efforts. Good luck!
performance. Establish criteria for determining