As leaders, we often find ourselves grappling with the dilemma of whether to provide additional support to struggling team members or to make the tough decision of letting them go. It's a delicate balance that requires careful consideration and empathy. Larger corporations usually have the advantage of having a well-developed HR team, well connected to all types of resources to provide the support to team members and help guide leaders and their team members sift through the available options that would best suit the employee in question. However, small to medium-sized companies don’t have this luxury. Handling performance issues and supporting team members through them rests solely on the management team – many of which have little to no leadership experience.
In this week’s newsletter, my hope is to help those small-medium-sized organization leaders who feel overwhelmed, frustrated or stumped about how to go about helping their struggling team members. I will explore how much support as well as the various types of support you might want to consider offering to an underperforming employee and identify certain flags that might indicate that it might be time to make the difficult decision to part ways.
How Much Support is Enough?
Supporting underperforming employees is not only an act of compassion but also a strategic investment in your team's success. Before considering termination, it's crucial to exhaust all avenues of support and development if the leader feels the potential is there. Here are some common
Key actions to take to support struggling team members
Clear Expectations
Before we get into any remedial strategy, I’ll begin with the obvious. If your team members aren’t crystal clear about what is expected of them, this could be an easy place to start. Ensure that your expectations are communicated clearly from the outset. Providing detailed job descriptions, performance metrics, desired project outcomes and regular specific feedback sessions all help keep team members on track. As a leader, it can be difficult to identify this being an area to work on because it is often a leader blindspot. By nature of their roles, leaders have access to a lot of information that most front-line or middle-management leaders don’t, and so while all of this might seem obvious to them, it rarely gets relayed to all parties. To find out if this needs improvement, ask various team members the following:
Do you have the information you need to do your best work?
Do you get the feedback you need to do your best work?
Another indicator could be often having to resend the work back to be redone or if you feel like you constantly have to “fix” things when projects are nearing completion.
Training and Development
Identify areas where the employee may need more training or mentorship and provide resources to help them improve. These resources don’t have to cost much. It could be in the form of courses, pairing them with a more experienced team member, facilitating a mentorship collaboration with an experienced member in the field. Regardless of the strategy, pairing the support with access to time to fully take advantage of it during workday hours will more likely ensure more openness to it and successful adoption of the learning.
Coaching and Feedback
As I mentioned earlier, smaller organizations that don’t have access to a complete human resource set-up are often left to their own devices to support struggling team members. Since smaller organizations also have a more “all hands on deck” approach, leaders rarely have time to dedicate to providing extra supports. If this is the case, coaches can be your best ally. From 360’s, customized goal-setting, progress monitoring and coaching conversations, coaches can take on the bulk of the work when leaders don’t have time for it. Again, this partnership is much more likely to be successful if the team member is given the opportunity to incorporate this work (usually only 30 minutes to 1 hour/week) during their work-day schedule. Coaches are specially trained to focus on strengths while addressing areas for improvement so that struggling employees feel empowered, rather than punished in their improvement journey.
Supportive Environment
Foster a supportive and inclusive work environment where employees feel comfortable expressing concerns and seeking help. Encourage open communication and help when needed, though remember to ask what type of help they are looking for. Leaders often assume that helping will mean jumping in and doing the work with or for them. Sometimes employees just need a sounding board or reassurance that they are on the right path.
Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)
This is really a last resort. If the employee's performance does not improve despite your efforts, consider implementing a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). Clearly outline expectations, timelines, and consequences for non-compliance, and provide ongoing support through any or all the means listed above throughout the process. Regardless, document everything – and always consult with an HR professional for best practices specifically revolving around this.
I will end the strategies with this: SO many issues can be prevented if leaders made regularly scheduled structured 1-to-1's with each of their team members. While it may take time out of the schedule, I guarantee it will pay off in time spent on fixing/re-working/frustrations experienced without them.
Indicators it's Time to Let Go
Despite your best efforts, there may come a point when it's clear that continuing to invest in an underperforming employee is no longer feasible. Here are some indicators that it might be time to consider termination, though I will caution that any leader should always consult their HR representative to properly document to ensure employee and labor laws are being respected in the process.
Termination should NEVER come as a surprise to an employee.
Consistent underperformance, despite added supports;
Negative impact on team morale and productivity;
Repeated violation of company policies;
Lack of effort or improvement.
The Impact of Inaction on the Team
As leaders, it's essential to recognize the ripple effect that inaction can have on your team. Failing to address underperformance promptly can lead to a myriad of negative consequences.
How, you ask? Let’s see:
Diminished Team Morale
When team members perceive that underperformance is tolerated or overlooked, it can erode morale and motivation. Resentment may build among high-performing employees who feel their efforts are undervalued. If this persists, high-performers tend to start looking for opportunities with higher-functioning teams elsewhere – and take other high-performers with them.
Increased Workload and Stress
Temporary workload shifts are to be expected with a team member is experiencing a major life event. This is normal – and most team members are happy to help others in times of crisis, knowing the favor will be reciprocated if they were ever in that situation. However, when the same team members are forced to pick up the slack caused by a consistently underperforming colleague, it leads to extended periods of increased workload and stress. This can result in burnout and decreased job satisfaction in your high performers.
Impact on Team Dynamics
Underperformance can disrupt team dynamics and cohesion, leading to strained relationships and communication breakdowns. We often see high-performers silo begin to isolate themselves from the rest of the team. Trust and collaboration may suffer as a result, impeding the team's ability to work effectively together.
As a leader, you get to set the standard and tone of your team. In fact, it’s YOUR responsibility to strike a balance between providing support to struggling team members and making tough decisions when necessary. By taking proactive steps to address underperformance and recognizing when it's time to let go, we can create a more productive, engaged, and harmonious work environment for our teams – with time, it may even negate the need future unpleasant performance-type conversations.
If you are looking for a more customized leadership development experience, leadership coaching may be the better option to get you to your professional development goals faster. Book a complimentary “Discovery Call” to discuss your goals and see if working with a leadership coach might be the way to go.