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Here's How Good Managers Give Bad Employees Feedback

Here's How Good Managers Give Bad Employees Feedback
by Marcel Schwantes

What manager likes to give low-performing employees feedback? Not many, but it's part of the job. Here's how the best do it with great success.

Raise your hand--who likes to discipline an employee? I hear crickets chirping in the background.

Yet discipline is a cornerstone of highly productive companies. Without it, employee performance is at risk.

But don't see it as a negative. If conducted with a constructive, future focus, it provides consistency, guidance, and valuable feedback both to and from the problem employee.

The best managers employ a face-to-face discussion to deal with low performers, and employees with attitude problems in general. This conversation is best handled on the manager's end when they're well prepared and have a game plan. Here's how they do it:

1. Preparation

Great managers will analyze the problem first to understand all perspectives. When having the face-to-face, these four questions are crucial to cover a managers' behind, and set the right expectations and accountability measures with both parties before moving forward. (You want a "yes" answer to all four.) 

• Does the employee understand what the problem is?
• Does the employee really understand the expected level of performance?
• Does the employee fully understand what will happen if performance standards are not met?
• Have you, as the manager, gotten all the facts? Who, what, where, when, why, and how?

2. When, where, and how

Great managers don't delay. They're proactive and aim to fix the problem sooner than later. But they're wise enough to back off while tempers are high and will only engage the situation after a cooling-off period. When exactly is best? Some managers prefer to address problems at close of business, the end of a shift, the end of the week, or just before some downtime. The smartest managers take into account what effect the discussions will have on the team. Great managers will always respect privacy. Some prefer a neutral location; others will put the employee at ease by coming to their work space, if secluded enough.

3. Coach and counsel

Great managers are exceptional coaches. They expose the problem, ask for agreement, and work toward a mutual solution with parameters for follow-up that both people will agree to. They coach and counsel with these principles in mind:

• Discuss performance issues, not the person.
• Limit the discussion to facts, not assumptions.
• Be objective; back yourself up with documentation and records.
• Spell out clearly what's acceptable and how to achieve it.
• Listen and allow for venting.
• Share the blame, if necessary.
• Focus on the future, not the past.
• Find a better way. Use open-ended coaching questions to draw the employee out.
• Affirm your employees' ideas and, when possible, add yours as suggested improvements. (Don't demoralize them further by telling them they're wrong constantly.)
• Allow employees to save face.
• Summarize what's been said and what you both agreed to.
• Put it in writing if it's serious enough.
• End on a high note of confidence that improvement can happen. Be available and encourage them to seek you out when needed.
• Follow up. Set a time and place to review progress.

Read full article on Inc.