How would you navigate a situation where a team member's performance is impacting IT service delivery?

I have faced this situation multiple times and I see the best approach to handle this situation is to probe and understand the root cause of performance issue. Many times, I see new managers getting frustrated over employees and that further degrades the performance as it impacts their psychological safety. My suggestions 1. Identify if this is due to skill gap - Use coaching, training, buddy system to fix it 2. Attitude issue - Ensure stern message (still being respectful) be given that we cannot comprise on quality for the client. Understand any professional reasons for attitude (e.g dissatisfaction from job) and address the same. 3. Issues in personal life - Be empathic and take decisions balancing personal and professional priorities.

One thing I have found to be very helpful is going into these situations with first principles and no assumptions. Using this approach, I can have an open dialogue directly with the team member to understand all views on the impact on performance. The root causes could range from lack of direction, inadequate training, or personal situations the team member is going through. After this, we can then agree on actions to move forward with clear guidelines, expectations, and timelines to be reviewed. It is very important to inspect what we expect and keep a tight pulse on whether our plan is meeting everyone's expectations or not. To me, this is a very rewarding process, when team members gain confidence through a well-aligned plan.

Try to understand the underlying reasons for their performance issues. It could be due to a lack of training, inadequate resources, or personal circumstances. Have an open and honest conversation with the team member. This can provide valuable insights into any challenges they are facing. Once you’ve identified the issues, tailor your approach to address them. This could involve providing additional training, reallocating resources, or offering support for personal issues.

From my experience, identifying the root cause of performance issues is crucial. It's rarely a matter of simply not trying hard enough. Often, there are underlying factors at play, such as inadequate training, unrealistic expectations, or personal challenges that need to be addressed to get the team member back on track.

Pull the team member aside and raise the issue with them directly, and privately. This needs to be done as soon as there is an apparent issue with their performance, not after it has been a problem for days or weeks. Discuss why their performance is suffering. Talk about there is anything I, or others on the team, can do to help. Once the cause is discussed take whatever actions are needed to remedy. If the issue continues to occur, raise it with our team's manager.

Once the issue has been identified, we need to ensure employees able to talk to a line manager or a senior openly and share whatever is troubling them. It is then the person listening who needs to place the problem correctly as personal or professional and see how best they can help While offering help, the line manager needs to make sure that targets are set and clarity is there to what he will be doing and what the employee will be doing. This will help for the issue to be measured and sorted in a speculated time frame.

open and honest communication is key to addressing performance issues. Approaching the conversation with empathy and a focus on finding solutions together, rather than placing blame, creates a safe space for dialogue. This allows us to understand the challenges the team member is facing and work collaboratively towards a positive outcome for both the individual and the team.

As an IT manager, I believe in setting clear, achievable goals that empower team members to improve. Collaborating with them on these SMART goals ensures they understand what's expected and feel invested in their own success, ultimately benefiting both the individual and the team's performance.

Basis, discussions and goal set with timelines. A careful strategy needs to be shifted to ensure company objectives are also met while helping the individual. Ultimately, these things go hand-in-hand, as without performance company is affected and only performance affects the employee

Review the goals set for the team member. Are they realistic and achievable? If not, it may be necessary to adjust these objectives to better align with their capabilities. If the current support mechanisms are not effective, consider other types of support. This could include mentoring, coaching, or even external training programs. In some cases, it might be beneficial to reassign roles within the team. Aligning tasks with individual strengths can enhance performance and job satisfaction. Ultimately, the goal is to support the team member’s professional growth and success within the organization. This might involve career development discussions, opportunities for upskilling, or creating a more supportive work environment.