Handling Unproductive Employees

Everyone has an off day now and again, but sometimes these off days turn into off weeks, or off months. As a business owner or manager, it's your job to keep an eye on how your employees are doing, and recognize when they're falling behind. If you've noticed that one of your workers has started doing low-quality work, you need to address the situation as soon as possible. Issues that go on for more than a couple of days aren't likely to resolve themselves: Ignoring it will only extend the length of time that your office or business lags behind. Remember, one unproductive worker will impede your other employees' ability to get their jobs done. According to Chron.com, unproductive employees can cause stress and conflict, both of which are huge problems for a small company. Tackling the situation head-on will give you – and the unproductive employee – a chance to turn it around. 

Meet with the Employee
No one likes to be the bearer of bad news, which makes negative feedback one of the hardest parts of managing. However, there are ways you can make the conversation a little bit easier. 

To start, always meet with your employees privately when you need to discuss poor performance. This is not an issue you should ever bring up in a meeting, or by simply wandering over to their desk and discussing it there. There are two reasons for this: One, bringing this kind of problem up in front of others is likely to embarrass your employee, putting him or her on the defensive. The conversation isn't going to yield useful results if your employee feels attacked. Two, it sets a bad example to the other employees. You don't want to create an atmosphere where people are concerned they might be approached about private issues publicly. Meeting with people in your office prevents this. 

Be Blunt
Once you're sitting down with the employee, be as straightforward as possible. Beating around the bush will make the conversation more painful than it has to be, and may lead to you not fully conveying your point. The last thing you need is to go through the trouble of having a meeting, leave satisfied that the person understands, and then find out he or she wasn't entirely sure what you were getting at. Skip any metaphors about cogs and well-oiled machines, and jump straight to the problem.

That said, make sure you're talking about the effects of the poor work, rather than the work itself. You might think you have a full knowledge of why the employee is underperforming, but there could be elements and issues you're not aware of. Instead of saying, "You haven't been putting as much time into the reports as you need to," say, "The reports you've been doing lately haven't been the quality we expect. They're lacking in X, Y and Z. What can you tell me about why that's happening?"

This gives your employee the chance to advocate on his or her own behalf and give you valuable insight. You might find out that some process is impeding his or her work, or that the training process isn't as in-depth as it needs to be. You might be able to clear up confusion your employees didn't realize they had, or give them feedback they need to fill in the missing gaps. This type of conversation even gives them the chance to acknowledge they've fallen behind and take responsibility.

Adjust
Once you've talked about the issue, the next step is making a change. For some situations, the change might be terminating the employee, or putting him or her on an improvement plan. For others, it might be a matter of restructuring the position, or changing the employee's responsibilities. Incorporate the feedback you get from the employee: For example, if they report that they're having trouble keeping track of their tasks, you can make sure they have a notepad on which they can jot things down. Whatever you decide to do, make sure you follow through and commit, and keep an eye on the employee to ensure that he or she is improving after the conversation.