Performance Management that Stands Up
Performance management is rarely just about the performance issue. The process matters too.
You might have legitimate concerns about an employee's performance. Perhaps work isn't being completed to the required standard, instructions aren't being followed, deadlines are being missed or behaviour is affecting the rest of the team.
You might have had conversations. You might even have clear evidence to support your concerns.
But if your approach was challenged, would your process stand up?
For employers and managers, that's an important question.
Don't wait until you've had enough
One of the challenges with performance management is that issues don't always begin as significant problems.
It might start with an employee regularly missing a step in a process. A supervisor notices but fixes it themselves because it's quicker. Someone isn't meeting expectations, but the team is busy and the conversation gets put off until things settle down.
Over time, frustration builds.
This can be particularly easy in agricultural and horticultural workplaces where operational demands, seasonal pressures and getting the job done can understandably take priority.
The problem is that by the time the issue is formally addressed, the manager may feel like they've been dealing with it for months, while the employee may not realise there is a serious concern at all.
If an employee doesn't know there is a problem, they haven't had a genuine opportunity to address it.
Be clear about the problem
Before beginning a performance management process, get clear on what the actual concern is.
“Your performance isn't good enough” doesn't give an employee much to work with.
What was expected? What actually happened? What standard hasn't been met? Are those expectations reasonable? Have they been clearly communicated? Does the employee have the training, tools and support required to meet them?
Where possible, focus on specific examples and observable behaviour rather than assumptions or generalisations.
Instead of “You don't seem committed to the job,” the conversation might be about particular tasks that haven't been completed, instructions that haven't been followed or agreed standards that haven't been met.
That makes the conversation clearer for both the manager and the employee.
Give the employee an opportunity to respond
Performance management shouldn't be a process where the outcome has already been decided.
A fair process includes giving the employee an opportunity to understand the concerns and respond to them.
There may be information the manager isn't aware of. Expectations may have been unclear. There may be a training issue, a misunderstanding about responsibilities or another factor contributing to the problem.
Listening to the response doesn't mean you have to agree with it. But it does mean approaching the conversation with enough curiosity to properly consider what the employee has to say before deciding what happens next.
Make improvement possible
The purpose of performance management should be to help an employee understand what needs to change and give them a reasonable opportunity to improve.
That means being clear about:
what needs to improve;
what good performance looks like;
what support or training will be provided;
how progress will be monitored;
when you will review performance again; and
what may happen if the required improvement isn't achieved.
Simply telling someone to “do better” isn't a performance improvement plan.
The employee needs to understand what success looks like.
Document the process
Managers often tell us, “We've spoken to them about this plenty of times.”
The next question is: what was documented?
Not every conversation needs to become a formal warning. Early, informal conversations are an important part of good people management.
But as concerns become more significant or a formal performance management process begins, appropriate documentation becomes increasingly important.
Good records help establish what concerns were raised, what the employee said in response, what was agreed, what support was offered and what happened next.
They also help demonstrate that the process was considered, consistent and fair.
A good reason doesn't fix a poor process
One of the most important things for employers to understand is that having genuine concerns about an employee's performance doesn't mean you can skip the process.
Performance management should be confident, fair and defensible.
Address concerns early. Be specific. Listen to the employee's response. Set clear expectations. Provide a genuine opportunity to improve. Document what happens.
And if you're unsure about the appropriate next step, get advice before taking action rather than after the process has already gone off track.
Want to explore the process further?
In our IR in Focus series, Shae Holman, Focus HR's Head of Employee & Industrial Relations, takes a practical look at performance management and the steps employers and leaders need to get right along the way.
The session explores how to approach performance concerns confidently and fairly while building a process that can withstand scrutiny.
Watch the recording: https://youtu.be/SWZ7Qq0i1hQ
Whether you're managing a performance issue now, supporting a supervisor through one, or simply want to be better prepared when one arises, the session provides practical guidance you can take back into your workplace.
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