In a study conducted by the Center for America Progress, the cost of losing employees reaches hundreds of thousands of dollars every year, sometimes even millions for larger companies. One way to decrease high turnover costs is to begin coaching employees who are underperforming. Below are four vital steps you must take when coaching underperforming employees before it’s too late.
Step 1- Identify the Root Cause of Their Unsatisfactory Performance
Knowing the root cause behind why an employee is underperforming is the only way to know how you should move forward in helping them remedy their unsatisfactory performance. For instance, if an employee is suddenly not meeting his or her sales quota, first ask why. Did he or she miss a recent training session that would have helped him or her meet the quota? Were sales quota requirements recently updated and he or she wasn’t notified?
Sometimes this step might be the only step you’ll have to take to turn around performance issues. It could be as simple as needing to send updated information to employees to get them up to speed with new requirements.
Step 2- Develop SMART Goals for Them
Once you complete the first step and determine your employee has everything he or she needs to perform well on the job, the next step is to develop SMART goals for him or her to follow. SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time-bound. Remember to communicate why the goals are important and how they’ll help the employee feel better about his or her job, as well as the organization.
Step 3- Collaborate with Them
Don’t simply make mandates that underperforming employees should follow “or else.” Allow them to help you develop their SMART goals, or allow them to talk to you about
ideas for potential solutions and approaches. Continue your discussion with them to identify the root cause for their performance gap and how it can be narrowed. Always remember to focus on performance, not the person.
Step 4- Show Them Appreciation
When employees turn around their performance, congratulate them and let them know you noticed. If they don’t know whether they’re improving, they may not know what they’re doing right or wrong and could easily fall back into old unwanted patterns. Don’t simply give employees goals to reach and never follow up with them. When an employee knows he or she has succeeded in uncovering a milestone, it makes them want to work harder, and set and achieve even more goals they’ll conquer.
Again, it’s very costly for an organization to lose even one employee. But you can keep your retention rates high and turnover rates low by practicing the steps above to coach your underperforming employees.