Every employee has a bad day from time to time; this is to be expected. Few, if any, employees will hit the nail on the head every day for the rest of their career. Be prepared for occasional slip ups and don’t make too much out of them if they come and go only occasionally.  

However, if you notice that one of your staff members is consistently coming under par with their work performance, it’s something you should address. Inadequate staff performance can eat away at your company’s bottom line, potentially costing thousands in lost revenue.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to determine whether you should work harder to motivate poorly performing employees or cut your losses while you’re ahead.

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What Was the Original Reason They Were Hired?

Consider the reason that you originally hired the employee. What convinced you that they would be a good addition to the team? Is that still true, or has the employee seemingly lost some of the enthusiasm, skill, or professionalism that they initially brought to the table?

Explore why the employee was hired in the first place and what may have impacted their abilities as they started working with your company. Can any issues impeding their performance be mitigated?

What Are the Employee’s Strengths?

When an employee begins making mistakes on the job, it can be easy to start focusing solely on their weaknesses. It may take some effort but think about what the employee’s strengths are. What can they bring to the table that other employees can’t? Do they have a special skill or past work experience that you can’t easily replace?

If your staff members are particularly skilled and bring unique experience to your workplace, you may want to consider offering them additional support to help them get through what will ideally be a temporary rough patch. Offer valuable employees who are struggling with more resources and check in with them often to see how they’re improving.

Have You Met with the Employee?

Have you met with the employee face-to-face to discuss what may be causing the dip in work performance? This is a good first step to discover what may be affecting your staff member’s work and if there’s anything you or your company can do to support the employee.

Schedule a one-on-one conference with them that isn’t focused on being too critical of their work or even making them specifically aware of what mistakes they’ve made. Instead, touch base with them person to person and ask how they’re doing.

Ask them if there are any major changes or stressors in their life that could be bleeding over into work and if so, how the employee feels about them. Consider working on an approach together to provide your staff member with the support they need while maintaining accountability for adequate work performance.  

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Have You Met with a Supervisor?

If your meeting with the employee doesn’t seem to be getting you anywhere, consider meeting with a supervisor above you both for additional help resolving the matter.

For example, if you’re a shift manager or team leader, you may be able to speak with the general manager or your human resources department about the issue at hand. Be sure to approach your supervisor with a positive attitude and avoid being too critical of the employee.

Instead, stick to the facts about their performance on the job and what about it was inadequate. Avoid making it personal, even if you’re upset or frustrated by the situation.

What Are the Consequences of Letting Them Go?

Think about the consequences that other staffers and your company overall may suffer if you let the employee go. Will one of your departments be given an extra workload that may throw off the balance of what they’re already doing? Or, will it leave your crew too slim to accomplish your business goals?

If this is the case, working to motivate the employee instead of terminating them may be in your best interests. The cost of the employee’s mistakes may currently be less than the cost of letting them go.

You can also tackle the situation at both ends by providing the necessary support to struggling staff members while actively looking for new recruits. This way, you’re maintaining your current workforce while simultaneously trying to replace employees whose work isn’t up to snuff even after more intensive one-on-one support.

Unfortunately, terminating a poorly performing employee is sometimes necessary and the best move for your other staff members and your company overall. In some cases, the cost of not terminating the employee is too high to be tenable for your business and it’s better to cut ties.

Training Online with Business Watch Network

Employee training is a crucial part of ensuring that your employees have the skills they need to perform well on the job. If you fail to train your staff, you set your staff up for failure.

Join our webinar, Motivate or Terminate, a webinar focused on why employees become disengaged on the job and what your company can do about it.

Business Watch Network makes employee training easy and flexible with 24/7/365 access to live and on-demand staff training webinars. Browse our selection of upcoming live webinars or check out our library of recorded training materials that can be used when it’s most convenient for your staff.

Contact us today to learn more by filling out our simple web form and clicking submit. We’ll get back with you as soon as possible!