Poor Performing Employees: Cause and Effect
One of the biggest issues facing businesses is the failure to deal with poor performing employees. According to an article written by Andy Blumenthal, it costs businesses an estimated $105 billion annually to deal with poor performers.
One major factor contributing to poor performance is the managers themselves. Businesses that do a poor job selecting and training managers are the ones who should get the blame. Failure to address the issue not only costs billions in low productivity, but also damages the morale and motivation of top performing employees. “Why should I go the extra mile, when my coworkers are slacking off?” As a result, this could increase employee turnover, lower productivity and limit opportunities to grow the business.
Sure, you have to deal with the problem employees and poor performers, but first ask yourself, “Did you hire them that way or did you make them that way?” The answer to this question, should tell you where to place your efforts — hiring better people, improving your performance management process or training and developing better managers. Look for the root cause before taking action. In some cases you may need to focus on your managers first.
Maria Glasso of the Dynamic Research Corporation said, “I believe people would rather work for the best manager at the worst company rather than the worst manager at the best company.”
Synovus Financial has a commandment for their managers that says, “A manager’s most important role is to serve, grow, and inspire his or her people—with no exception.”
