Managing poor performance at work

We understand that managing poor performance can be a challenging and sensitive issue for any business.

Our team of experienced employment lawyers are here to provide practical and effective solutions to help you manage poor performance in your workplace. We work closely with you to understand your business needs and provide expert advice to ensure that you are compliant with employment law whilst achieving your business objectives.

• There are different interpretations of poor performance, but if an employee is not contributing positively to your business, you need to find out why and take appropriate action.
• It’s important to investigate the situation thoroughly and explore all options for supporting the employee, before taking disciplinary action or dismissing them.
• Our expert advice will help you manage the situation, decide on the most effective action and ensure you follow the correct procedures.

Poor performance can be interpreted as an employee not meeting the standards you expect, failing to improve their performance over time or simply not making sufficient effort. This could be caused by a range of factors. Perhaps they are unable to do the job in question; they may be lacking motivation; the tasks are too difficult for them or they need more support.

How to manage poor performance at work

Identify the root cause, set clear expectations, provide regular feedback, offer support and resources. Address performance issues promptly and objectively, use a solution-focused approach, and establish a performance improvement plan. Document all efforts to improve performance.

Your first thoughts may be that their poor performance may be due to incapacity, misconduct or even negligence and therefore the employee should be dismissed. However, jumping to conclusions about the cause of the poor performance could generate problems for your business later.

The actions you take should be governed by a range of factors, including understanding the employee in question and any issues they may have, the specific allegations of poor performance and how long it has been going on for.

We understand that dealing with poor performance can be stressful for all involved. Our advice can help you manage the situation, so you feel confident about any action you decide to take. For example, we can advise you on:-

• Reassessing the business to ensure you are doing everything you can to support your employees;
• Redesigning a job role to fit an employee;
• Creating a more motivating environment; and
• Disciplining or dismissing an employee in relation to their poor performance.