Story about Julianne Hom as the new manager having to navigate through an older employee's performance plan, who had hired a labor attroney to negotiate her case. It sapped her energy and excitement about her new role to such an extent, she left the company. The irony was that the problem employee stayed.
There are two sides to dealing with employee problem performance. One is obviously the employee. The other is the manager. Performance plans are grueling nightmares that err on the side of giving an employee a chance to redeem themselves But the increased tension, weekly meetings and detailed measurement of progress can sap the manager's energy and will. The result may be to lose a rising star and keep the problem employee. That's nuts.
When an employee's performance has slipped to the point where they should be on a performance plan, I believe in giving them a choice: either go on the plan, where the chances of success are 50-50 or 60-40, whatever, or take the time allocated for the plan and use it to search for a new job. o. It's also demeaning for an employee to be on such a plan. Giving them a choice is a way to save face, and give the employee more of a sense of control over their destiny. |