If you have ever had the unpleasant experience of having to keep particular low performers on your team, read this article. It explains how that employee’s performance affects your team, the consequences of firing them, and how you can improve that employee’s performance. Knowing them will help you make intelligent decisions about their employment.
Deterioration in Employees’ Performance
When an employee’s performance declines, likely, the performance of the entire team (especially in large groups) will initially remain the same. Others will assist and take on additional tasks in a healthy team environment. If it’s a temporary problem, everyone works together. Today John, tomorrow Brenda. This is not a problem. But if John continues to fail and others have to take his place, the rest of the team will feel overwhelmed and even frustrated by this unfair behavior. Stress levels will rise, and communication between team members may become unstable. This is when overall performance begins to decline. It is usually at this point that the manager starts to wonder if the team would be better off without the underperforming member.
Consequences of Firing an Under-Performing Employees
Parting with an ineffective employee is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you may finally have a team of dedicated players. Who enjoy playing on a high-performing team and feel that their efforts are appreciated. As a result, they will be more motivated to continue contributing. On the other hand, you now have a void. Your predecessor’s tasks are now being taken over by someone else. If you can do this with a minor team, you may be able to reduce costs. This often requires recruiting new players. This means that you, as the manager, have more work to do in recruiting, selecting, and mentoring new team members. It also means that it takes time to reach an acceptable level of performance. Therefore, it may be better not to fire a failing worker.
Helping the Under-Performing Employees
If an underperforming employee can be rescued, not only will the performance of the entire team be improved. But the employee’s loyalty and esteem will also be gained. However, this requires a systematic approach that includes good faith, clear communication, and follow-up. Being truthful with your employees means having an honest discussion about the real reasons for their behavior and the consequences for the individual and the team. It would be beneficial if you were explicit about your goals. You also need free employee monitoring and give them frequent feedback until their performance improves significantly.
Conclusion
To ensure that the team’s performance is not affected by ineffective contributors, you need to assess whether you have the right people on your team. This assessment involves looking at each member’s influence on overall performance and atmosphere, determining whether the team’s performance would improve without that member, and determining whether the team is taking the right approach to improving performance.
