The following checklists set out the questions that a manager can use- fully ask himself or herself (and have answered) when dealing with dif- ferent aspects of substandard performance.
Failure to achieve objectives or standards
ᔡ To what extent have objectives not been achieved?
ᔡ What specific instances have there been of substandard perfor- mance?
ᔡ Did the individual fully understand what he/she was expected to achieve?
ᔡ Were these expectations reasonable in the light of the individual s experience and qualifications to do the job?
Improving Performance 95
ᔡ Did the way in which the job was structured contribute to the failure?
ᔡ Did the individual get sufficient support from his/her manager or team leader and the other members of the team?
ᔡ Was the individual aware that his/her work was not up to standard and what, if anything, was he/she doing about it?
ᔡ Was the problem caused by inadequate knowledge or lack of skill in any respect?
ᔡ To what extent, if any, was the failure to achieve targets or meet per- formance standards simply because of a lack of effort or interest on the part of the individual?
The answers to these questions should provide some indication of the action that could be taken, leading for example to:
ᔡ clarifying objectives and standards;
ᔡ reformulating objectives to make them attainable (but not too easily);
ᔡ redesigning the job (adjusting tasks and responsibilities) to provide a sounder basis for obtaining better results;
ᔡ re-examining the composition of the team and its methods of working, followed, if necessary, by a team-building programme;
ᔡ improving the feedback on results to the individual, and monitoring performance following the feedback to ensure that corrective action is taken as necessary;
ᔡ encouraging individuals to develop the additional knowledge or skills themselves, while providing guidance and coaching as required;
ᔡ if a self-development approach is inappropriate or insufficient, arranging for specific training or coaching in areas where deficien- cies in knowledge or skill have been identified;
ᔡ helping individuals to learn from their mistakes, thus knowing how to minimize the risk of repeating them;
ᔡ encouraging individuals to recognize that certain aspects of their behaviour have contributed to the substandard results and getting 96 Performance Management
them to agree to the achievement of specified modifications in behaviour.
The last action will be the most difficult one to carry out successfully.
Unacceptable attitude or behaviour
ᔡ Why do you believe that there is a problem over the employee s atti- tudes or behaviour?
ᔡ What evidence is there that the attitude/behaviour is creating a per- formance problem? (Quote actual examples.)
ᔡ Have you discussed with the individual at the timeany instance of poor performance that you believe could be attributed to negative attitudes or behaviour?
ᔡ How did the individual react when asked to comment on any such instances?
ᔡ What steps have you taken to enable the employee to recognize his/her own problem or situation and discuss it with you?
ᔡ Have you taken into account the fact that in general it is easier to change behaviour than deep-seated attitudes?
ᔡ Have you been successful in obtaining agreement on the cause of the problem and what should be done about it?
ᔡ If so, have you agreed how the problem should be managed by the individual with whatever help you and, possibly, other people could provide?
ᔡ If not, is this a problem that you should refer to another counselling source (eg a member of the human resource department) for reso- lution?
The approach described above requires the manager to act as a coun- sellor rather than as an authoritarian figure handing out threats or promises of reward. Counselling is a skilled process and managers need to be convinced of its value as a means of managing performance and trained in how to do it (and Chapter 12 deals with counselling tech- niques in more detail).
There will, unfortunately, be situations when counselling does not work: the problem will persist, an employee will be incorrigible, and a Improving Performance 97
capability procedure will have to be invoked, as discussed later in this chapter.
Unwillingness to accept objectives or standards
The management by contract aspect of performance management is basic to its philosophy, but what happens if someone does not agree to what the manager believes to be entirely fair although possibly stretching objectives or standards? The following questions need to be addressed by the manager in this situation:
ᔡ How certain am I that this is an attainable objective or standard?
ᔡ Have I any benchmarking evidence that targets or standards of this nature have been achieved by other people in similar circum- stances?
ᔡ Is it reasonable for me to ask this particular individual to achieve this objective or standard in the light of his/her experience or qual- ifications, or in the circumstances in which the job is carried out?
ᔡ Does the individual have any reasonable grounds for rejecting the objective or standard? If not, why is he/she adopting this attitude?
ᔡ Do I insist on this objective or standard in spite of the individual s objections? If not, to what extent am I prepared to modify the objective?
In the last analysis, if you believe that an objective or standard is essen- tial and attainable, you have to insist on it. It may be one that has to be achieved if you are going to reach objectives or standards to which you have already agreed as being proper and reasonable. And if, for example, the business will not survive unless certain targets for earn- ings per share or return on capital employed are achieved, you cannot agree to an individual target that is not going to make an adequate con- tribution to the overall result required.There may be some discussion about how it is to be achieved, but there can be no dispute over the fact that it must be achieved if at all possible.
The same principle applies to performance standards. If, for instance, you know that you will lose valuable customers if you cannot guaran- tee a proper response to an enquiry within 24 hours, and you also know that the resources are available to achieve that standard, then it 98 Performance Management
is entirely reasonable to insist on it, even though you may have to accept that it cannot be achieved overnight (but spell out when it has to be reached).
The aim is, of course, to avoid an impasse, and if you have difficulty in reaching agreement you have to do your best to persuade the indi- vidual that the target or standard is reasonable, promising any neces- sary help if that is appropriate.
If this does not work, you may allow the employee to appeal to a higher authority (eg your boss). If such an appeal is not upheld, you would have no alternative but to insist on the target or standard you require and you would have to inform the individual that you expect every effort to be made to reach it. If, subsequently and without good reason, the individual fails to achieve the target or standard, you would then have to consider invoking a capability procedure as described below.
It is to be hoped that such situations will seldom, if ever, arise, but what you cannot afford to do is allow substandard performance to con- tinue unchecked. Performance management is essentially management by agreement, but if that agreement is unreasonably withheld, man- agers have to exert their authority in order to get the job done well.