What Can I Do To Prevent Poor Performance?
• Communicating clear performance standards and expectations to employees.
If your employees don’t understand what is expected, it will be very hard, if not impossible, for them to meet those expectations. Providing clear expectations doesn’t necessarily require you to lay out precisely written, detailed instructions on every performance component. Generally, the question you should ask yourself is: "Would a reasonable person understand what was expected?"
• Providing regular and frequent feedback on performance.
Such feedback, both positive and negative, whether given in regularly scheduled meetings or in unscheduled discussions, is crucial to ensuring that expectations are understood. Frequent feedback lessens the likelihood that an employee will be surprised if it becomes necessary to take formal steps to resolve poor performance. Always look for opportunities to confirm that your employees understand what is expected.
Rewarding and recognizing good performance, informally and formally.
Recognizing good performance is simply another way of clarifying expectations.
• Making full use of the probationary period for new employees.
Performance problems often first show up during the initial period of employment. This period is designed to provide an opportunity for management to address such problems.
A recurring theme in successful resolution of performance problems is that taking action early is always better than waiting. This statement is definitely true when considering ways to prevent performance problems. Early communication, early feedback (positive and negative), and if appropriate, early termination during a probationary or trial period are all good ways to prevent future performance problems. Investing time early is always time well spent.