![\"performance](\"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/pexels-ketut-subiyanto-4559600-1-1024x682.jpg\")
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A successful business is all about accountability. Each worker\u2019s individual contributions build on one another and culminate into something greater, to the benefit of the company and its customers. Conversely, when some individuals struggle with their performance, the entire organization can suffer. Unfortunately, addressing poor performance isn\u2019t always easy. This is especially true amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as remote working often makes accountability more complicated. This article offers five tips to help employers with performance management for remote workers as well as those in the workplace.<\/p>\n
The longer poor performance goes unchecked, the more damage it causes. Strategies such as incidental counseling, frequent check-ins, and 360-degree reviews can all be useful for identifying and curtailing poor performance early on. Even if the majority of the workforce is working remotely, it\u2019s critical to budget ways to check-in and monitor performance in an ongoing manner\u2014particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the margin between success and failure is razor-thin.<\/p>\n
Difficult conversations aren\u2019t easy for many people, managers included. In fact, nearly 20% of top executives struggle to hold others accountable, according to the Harvard Business Review<\/a>. This is a problem since issues left unaddressed will almost always worsen over time.<\/p>\n A poorly performing employee isn\u2019t likely to improve if left to their own devices \u2014 employers need to have tough conversations. This doesn\u2019t entail laying into the employee, however. Rather, employers need to thoughtfully explain where they\u2019ve noticed performance lapses and work candidly with the employee toward improvement.<\/p>\n These conversations should be face-to-face (e.g., a video call) and cover the following:<\/p>\n The end goal of these conversations should be to correct the problem, not necessarily discipline the employee. For instance, an employer may discover through this process that a workflow is the main hindrance, not an individual.<\/p>\n In other words, migrating to a work-from-home arrangement can create unforeseen problems, which can resemble individual shortcomings. By having tough conversations, employers can figure out the truth and help work toward a solution.<\/p>\n Establishing performance improvement goals is only worthwhile if employees are held to them. A clear goal with measurable standards should\u2019ve been established during the initial performance conversation with the employee. Employers should follow up on everything that was discussed during that meeting.<\/p>\n The length of time between the initial meeting and follow-up will vary by situation. For instance, if the main problem turned out to be workflow-related \u2014 rather than solely about performance \u2014 it may take longer to establish a fix, since that solution may necessitate input from many stakeholders. In other cases, such as when an employee is distracted by personal responsibilities, an employer may have quicker turnaround expectations and follow up sooner.<\/p>\n Employers should document all performance-related issues from the onset. That means as soon as a manager notices dwindling performance, a paper trail should begin. In a remote setting, this would entail collecting emails, chat transcripts, and other logs. Doing so will help guide performance improvement by cataloging specific examples for the employee to work on and identifying different time periods to compare performance against.<\/p>\n The record should also include meeting notes to document anything that\u2019s discussed during performance meetings, including specific action steps and goals. Employers may consider recording video calls, with employee consent, to keep a more accurate record. Not only will this documentation help employers track performance improvement, but it may also be necessary for justifying an employee\u2019s termination if they do not improve.<\/p>\n Performance issues can often be corrected through swift action. But, if managers are unable to recognize or address poor performance with their direct reports, problems will only continue. Managers may have different blind spots in this regard. Some may not track performance closely enough, while others may speculate as to the cause of the poor performance without actually addressing it.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why manager training is so important. Managers should be able to spot when performance is declining and have the resolve to address those situations with employees. This is the only method for getting to the root cause and improving the circumstances. It\u2019s not prudent to expect employees to bring up their limited performance on their own.<\/p>\n isolved<\/a>, GTM’s payroll and HR management platform, helps you drive accountability by providing real-time input on performance all year, instead of just at the annual performance review. It helps your organization monitor and report on performance with flexible, customized cycles. Managers and supervisors can use pre-loaded review templates. Request a free quote<\/a> for more information and to see a demo of isolved.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a9 2020 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" These tips for performance management for remote workers will help employers drive accountability and address issues with their entire workforce.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[266],"tags":[19,220,167],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-8825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-consulting-services","tag-human-resources","tag-performance-management","tag-remote-employees"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8825"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12141,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8825\/revisions\/12141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8825"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=8825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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3. Follow Up on Progress<\/h2>\n
4. Keep a Detailed Performance Management Record<\/h2>\n
5. Seek Additional Manager Training<\/h2>\n