How do you handle performance issues and underperformers in your team?

There are two types of people who underperform. One type is those who are disengaged, the other who are not skilled/trained. For the first type, we must try and motivate them through employee engagement and performance coaching. The second type requires upskilling and reskilling. Invest in their training and development and they can start performing well again.

It's important to talk! The leader needs to understand what is happening to the person within the company or understand if something outside is interfering with their work. After that, structure an action plan for improvement and monitoring.

Succession planning should be considered in organizations without emotional attachment of pessimism or future misfortune, scenario analysis dictates so. Identify who have passion for the organization, who has taken the organization as their own in contributing to its growth. Who are professionally skilled in their role and are equally ethically and morally upright to fly the flag of the brand even to the top.

Address performance issues and underperformers by setting clear expectations, providing constructive feedback, offering necessary support and resources for improvement, and implementing a structured performance improvement plan with regular follow-ups to track progress and ensure accountability.

Simply put, Succession Planning is to “Become Dispensable". This is a debatable topic in today's context, when the environment seems to be that of Hire & Fire across the industry. Should one be a Linchpin or be Dispensable? It is indeed a double-edged sword! For the Ambitious, in order for one to graduate to the next level, it is imperative that your next level is ready to take up responsibilities in your absence, thus ensuring your absence is not felt. This frees up your bandwidth to graduate to next level & take up additional responsibilities, and your next level also progresses to fill in your role, it's a Win-Win-Win for You, Your next layer & the Organisation.

Performance management is the vital pulse that propels a successful team forward. It transcends the mere achievement of goals and provision of feedback; rather, it embodies a continuous process that harmonizes every team member with the overarching vision of the organization. Picture it as a dynamic force, an ongoing rhythm that ensures everyone is not only aligned but thriving within their roles. It serves as a bespoke roadmap for each team member, spotlighting their strengths while illuminating areas for improvement. In essence, it acts as the clandestine catalyst, fusing individual efforts into a collective synergy that propels the entire team towards triumph.

Effective performance management is what differentiates winning and losing teams. You owe your team to manage under-performers, to deliver feedback and draw a plan to help them improve so that they can contribute to the team effort. You also owe your team to manage strong performers, to ensure they remain team players and do not draw the cover to themselves too much. This means having some uncomfortable conversations at times, but there are ways to do this and this is precisely what managers are here for.

It's real meaning is to evaluate the performance of team members and tell them where they are lagging and what needs to be done for the improvement. Give them due support for their improvements. But in corporate scenario currently it only refers to increments.

In my opinion, performance management is like the heartbeat of a winning team. It's not just about goals and feedback, it's an ongoing thing that keeps everyone in sync with the organization's vision. This way, it helps each team member get better and grow. Imagine it as a personalized roadmap, pointing out what you're good at and where you can improve. Basically, it's the secret ingredient that makes individual efforts add up to the whole team succeeding.

Performance management is a fundamental part in handling your team, the following steps can be extremely helpful when approaching this subject for the first time: Set Clear Goals: Define roles and align them with company objectives. Continuous Feedback: Regular, two-way communication is crucial. Objective Evaluations: Regular, data-driven reviews for fair assessment. Growth Opportunities: Provide training and career path planning. Recognize and Reward: Acknowledge achievements, tailor rewards. Improvement Plans: Support underperformers with clear goals.

No one comes to work to underperform. The issues can be many starting from a wrong fitment of skill set to issues which are personal in nature . Hence before judging or coming to a solution, in my view the best to handle such situation in is to have an open dialogue with the employee and fist understand what’s is holding him / her back from over performing . Once that’s clear there will be ways to support him / her . It is easy to write off someone , but as leaders our role is to be there and help.

Effective communication is crucial when addressing underperformance. Begin by exploring the reasons behind it. Could personal issues be affecting their work? Perhaps there's a disconnect with the company's culture, or their current role isn't fulfilling their motivational needs. It's also possible they might not fully understand their job expectations. Often, underperformance stems from a lack of clarity about what's expected. However, if an employee is well-informed, receives consistent feedback, and continues to underperform, it may indicate that they are not a suitable match for your business.

As people managers, we must refrain from passing any judgment or jumping into conclusions insofar as performance lapses are concerned. Getting to the root cause of underperformance is one thing but managing the psychological/emotional aspects of underperformers is another. Compassionate managers must draw a fine line between making a hard decision about the performance issue and coaching the underperformers to give them a second chance. Everyone deserves that opportunity. Managers should also do some own reflection about the role as people managers, and whether sufficient time has been invested to provide clarity of the vision, and the required guidance and coaching to deliver realistic objectives.

First, expectations need to be clear from the start and updated as things change. Employees need something to point to that shows what is expected in their role and what success looks like. If you feel your employee is underperforming, you first need to determine if it's a "skill-based" or a "will-based" issue. Skill-based issues mean that the employee may need additional training or may not be in the right role. Will-based problems are due to a lack of motivation which could be caused by several factors, some of which may be in your control (team dynamics, engaging work, etc) and others may be out of your control, but are worth discussing so you can support your employee in overcoming their struggles.

It's really quite simple and effective when one has the support and clarity to implement and maintain. Expectations and accountability. What are the expectations, did the person meet the expectations, why, and what is being done to correct the situation. Change the behaviors or change the person. Here's the kicker that makes some managers uncomfortable: did we set this person up for success or failure? Ask a few of these questions - Were clear directions given? What about training? Did that person and the manager both define success the same way? Are all people treated the same? Is there a systematic plan or matrix to reference? Can the whole organization learn and improve from this situation?

Have clear objectives on what the current talents have that aligns with the goal of the organization. Identify the best talents that would make the most out of the investment and commitment with such responsibilities. Engage in quality communication with talents and make your intention known. Invest heavily in training and monitoring to further filter who passes the test of intelligence and failed the test of essence for the company's missions. Pick the best without emotion and let them do their job. Evaluate them periodically.

Key aspects of succession planning include: 1. Identification of the relevant position and the talent fitment. 2. Creating succession and development plans for the identified individuals. 3. Training and mentoring the identified individual with an end goal of making him ready for the next role well in advance. 4. Evaluate the progress against the benchmark. 5. Make the individual perform the future role in his current arrangement and capacity. 6. Don’t shy away from taking risks and delegating stuff to potential candidates.

Conduct a risk assessment of critical positions in the organisation and assess the impact of losing individuals occupying those positions. Build a succession plan around those, assess the time it requires for the identified individuals to become ready and what is required to get them there - both personal readiness and business case. Assign projects, individual learning, business challenges for group and individual, sponsors/advisors and a coach to help them succeed. Most importantly, get alignment between what the individual wants versus what the organisation needs.

Identify Key Positions: Identify critical roles within the organization that are crucial for its success and continuity. These may include executive positions, leadership roles, or any other key functions. Create a Succession Planning Team: Form a succession planning team that includes representatives from various departments, including HR, senior leadership, and key stakeholders. This team will be responsible for overseeing the succession planning process. Assess Current Talent: Evaluate the current talent pool within the organization. Identify high-potential employees and assess their skills, competencies, and potential for growth. Establish Criteria for Successors: Clearly define the criteria for selecting successors.

Define the plans and goals for your employees clearly. It can be followed by a one-on-one meeting with the employee and help them understand their duties, daily tasks, and what does and doesn’t lie in their work periphery. As a manager, you must inform them how their performance will be evaluated and the key metrics they should focus on for their growth. Similarly, have a discussion with the team so that everyone knows about each others’ roles and responsibilities. This way, they can reach out to the right person for a particular task. Regular monitoring of progress helps identify any issues with your employees’ performance at an early stage.

Some logical actions could be: 1. Identify and understand the root causes of under performance - attitude, confidence, skill or info. 2. Provide specific actionable feedback 3. Implement a performance improvement plan 4. Make clear the risks of continued non performance

Balancing succession planning and performance management, is about seeing the bigger picture. It's not just about filling positions; it's about nurturing potential and aligning it with the organization’s vision. Succession planning shouldn't be a reactive process but a proactive strategy that identifies and develops future leaders. This approach goes hand-in-hand with performance management, which is about helping people become the best version of themselves. It’s about understanding each team member's strengths, guiding them towards roles where they can thrive, and ensuring that their growth aligns with the organization's future needs.

Succession planning and performance management go hand in hand, driving both team performance and potential. Align your strategies with your organization's vision and clearly communicate them to your team. Use performance management to identify and develop succession candidates, and succession planning to motivate high performers. Involve your team, provide regular feedback, recognition, and development opportunities. Stay flexible and adapt to changing needs. Seek feedback and learn from others' best practices. Together, these processes ensure a robust and future-ready organization. #SuccessionPlanning #PerformanceManagement #Leadership #TalentDevelopment #OrganizationalSuccess