Even star employees may witness a decline in performance from time to time. Prof. VGT explains how to deal with such situations and restore your team to peak shape.
Nikhil was the star performer in his team and his manger was very proud of him and had complete confidence in his abilities. But the situation suddenly took a downturn and Nikhil stopped performing to par and as a result, the work of the team was affected, making an adverse impact on the other members of the team. The manager knew he had to act before it was too late.
Nikhil is just one of those employees who are normally efficient but due to certain events or circumstances become suddenly uninterested in their work and fail to achieve what they are capable of. Worse is when such employees spread their discouraged feelings to others in the team and affect their performance too. A manager or team head has to know how to recognize such employees and the right techniques to employ to get them back on track. Such employees have a tendency to constantly complain about their work and how it has become boring.
Minor hassles tend to upset them and they get irritated at the slightest pretext. They complain that they are overloaded with work and question the value of the work they do. They tend to become lethargic and express a feeling of emptiness at work.
If an employee displays some or all of these symptoms, then action is needed to find out why they are acting this way. Not all employees may open up to managers on what rankles them but the manager has to be persistent and find the reasons. Choose a quiet time and place where you can have a private talk with the employee. Listen to what they are saying and try to read between the lines. If you cannot get any conclusive information, talk to the employee’s colleagues, they may know more about the matter than perceived. If you are still not happy with the employee’s answer, you can ask the talent management department to talk to the employee. He could be more articulate about the reasons with them.
The reasons for the employee’s behaviour could be anything from a feeling of burnout to a lack of confidence. Sometimes the reasons could be problems in personal life. Once the reasons are known, then appropriate action needs to be taken to get the employee to perform as efficiently as before. If burnout is the problem, and you cannot possibly reduce the workload, give the employee a variation of tasks.
Another option can be more leeway to do the job. If lack of confidence is a problem, then give them easier jobs first. This will give a sense of accomplishment and build his confidence. Encourage such employees to talk to you, be more approachable so that they can be frank on issues bothering them. This builds their trust and confidence in you.
A better option to dealing with such performance issues in employees would be to prevent them in the first place by keeping employees constantly motivated.
Communication lines between the management and employees should be open. They should know the objectives and goals of the company and its plans for employees. They should be told that their contribution is important for the company.
Be a good listener, listen to what your team members say about the company, management or even each other. Let them know that you are interested in their welfare and will take action on issues bothering them. For all this, you need to spend more time among your team members.
When a normally efficient employee shows a decline in performance, tackle the problem immediately, otherwise it can affect not only the individual but also the whole team.
