Managing Low-Performing Employees in the Workplace

It can feel obvious when an under-performer emerges on a team. When it’s a glaring issue, managers typically know what to do. But what happens when an employee is simply doing just OK? Rather than missing meetings and project deadlines, you notice small acts of indifference or disinterest such as forgetfulness to respond to emails or a blasé attitude.

In these instances, the employee is neither a top performer nor a critical risk to the team. What is the best approach to handle the situation and preserve the team dynamic? When managing in the workplace, there are a couple of steps to take when leading an employee to excellence.

Identify the Root Cause of Underperformance

Mediocrity in the workplace can manifest in many ways, from the employee disengaging from team meetings to a lack of initiative to go beyond their basic tasks. (Sometimes, this reveals itself in quiet quitting.) It can be challenging for leaders who are managing employees in the workplace to know how to address this.

Taking action requires being able to identify what is causing the underperformance. In a recent video on average employee performance, Katie Hillary, Executive Chief of Staff at Insight Global, identified four primary “root causes” of mediocrity. They include:

Attitude: How is the employee showing up to work? To meetings? How are they interacting with clients? If they are approaching situations with a lackluster attitude, that can indicate a root cause stemming from dissatisfaction with a workplace issue, like their job, role, or team.
Capabilities or lack of skill: Does the employee have the right tools, training, and resources to perform their required job function? What capabilities or tools does the employee need to be successful? Do they have everything they need?
Work ethic: Is the employee completing exactly what is being asked of them, nothing more or less? Do they require external motivation to get through a task?
Reliability: If an employee is routinely late for meetings, missing calls, or turning in assignments after deadlines, it can indicate issues stemming from reliability.

These can be identified along with the employee through conversations! Identifying the root cause of underperformance is the first step to addressing it. Keep in mind there can be overlapping or concurrent root causes. For example, an employee might show unreliability when turning in dashboard assignments. Upon further digging, the manager may uncover that the reason stems from the employee’s lack of training on how to run the dashboard. In this case, the manager should address the joint causes of capabilities and reliability with the employee.

These root causes can also be from things external to the manager’s control. An employee could be going through a rough patch in their personal lives, or they may currently be in a state of limbo in their career. No matter the root cause, it’s important to handle these assessments with care and compassion.

How to Manage Employees in the Workplace to Excellence

Once you’ve identified any root causes, it’s time for the manager to take action. Managers should start with a one-on-one meeting with the employee. In this meeting, the manager can:

Clearly and concisely go over the issue(s) relating to the employee’s performance.
Provide feedback, data, or specific examples to show the employee where they are lacking—and where they are meeting or exceeding expectations.
Identify opportunities for the employee to “bridge the gap” and become an outstanding teammate by setting expectations about their standard of performance.
Collaboratively create a performance assessment and development plan that outlines specific actions, resources, and timelines needed for improvement.
Offer training and resources such as upskilling, knowledge-sharing sessions, mentoring, or access to on-the-job training that help the employee gain skills they lack.
Continuously monitor their progress and check in to discuss their development and any challenges they may be facing.
Consistently and intentionally reward positive performance.

Always Know Where You Stand

One of our core values at Insight Global is “Always Know Where You Stand.’” While this shared value isn’t reserved for one-on-one meetings, a one-on-one is essential for communicating expectations with mediocre employees and defining steps to help them achieve better success. They also aren’t reserved for only low-performing staff—they’re for everyone.

Arranging routine “always know where you stand” meetings between employees and leadership helps to create an ongoing dialogue around employee performance and growth.

“We live that value through care and accountability,” Hillary says. “It’s something we view as a shared responsibility that both the individual has to embody, and the leader has to [leverage] to ensure that our employees always know where they stand.”

Continually letting employees know where they stand and where they have room to grow creates radical candor between managers and their teams. These conversations also help employees take ownership of their own development while also creating a “Swiss army knife” approach to addressing all performance issues.

Related: 10 Leadership Behaviors to Be a Better Boss

What Is the Outcome of Addressing Employee Performance?

Although managers have the best intentions when addressing underperformance, constructive feedback is not always positively received. Managers can plan for two common outcomes when addressing low employee performance:

It lights a spark: All some people need is a spark of motivation, a change of scenery, or an honest conversation to light the fire of success. If addressing their performance is successful, it can ignite growth in a person to strive for better performance. This results in a happier employee, manager, and team.
It snubs the candle: If a manager takes time to thoughtfully and intentionally address the employee performance by following the steps above and it’s met with resistance or continued poor performance, it may be a blessing in disguise. It may indicate this person isn’t the right fit for your team.

Managing in the Workplace Head On

As business philosopher Jim Rohn once said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Considering the average person spends 90,000 hours at work over their lifetime, it’s important to surround ourselves with teammates and colleagues who push us to be our best selves.

Although managers can’t prevent mediocrity from emerging on their teams when managing in the workplace, they can control how they address it. By allowing employees to do just OK, managers are indirectly eroding the effectiveness and morale of their top performers.

“This is a chance for the individual to become the best version of themselves and bring the group up,” Hillary says.