He’s probably lazy.

He doesn’t care about his job.

He’s just not cut out to work for this company.

When an employee isn’t living up to your expectations, it’s human nature to make assumptions like these. But assumptions can be wrong – leading to, well, rather unpleasant consequences.

So if you find yourself frustrated with an individual’s performance, resist the urge to jump to conclusions. Take a deep breath, take a step back, and ask yourself the following questions before approaching your employee:

Questions for You

Have you provided everything your employee needs to succeed?

For any individual to meet your expectations, he needs a thorough job description. Clear goals. Adequate training. The right tools and resources to do his job. And access to support when he has questions or issues.

Give some thought as to whether one or more of these factors may be contributing to your employee’s performance issues.

Have you explained the “why”?

Does your employee understand why his job matters? How his work, directly and indirectly, affects co-workers, his department, your organization and beyond?

When an individual knows the “why’s” of his position and your company as a whole, he’ll take a more vested interest in performing well. So connect the dots for him. Make sure he clearly understands your organization’s mission, as well as the impact his daily activities have on achieving it.

Questions for Your Employee

Once you consider these questions, ask your employee questions that will get to the root of performance issues – without making him unnecessarily defensive. Below are a few you can customize for your needs:

• Do you feel adequately prepared and equipped to do your job? Why or why not?
• Are you experiencing any frustrations in your position? (Probe to clarify and determine root cause.)
• How would you rate your recent performance? Why do you say that?
• What more, if anything, could we do to make you more successful?
• Do you feel valued here? Why or why not?

Determining the answers to these questions will help you understand the root cause of performance issues. You may find that your initial reaction was right and that the individual either is lazy or doesn’t really have what it takes to succeed in the position.

On the other hand, you may also uncover issues with training, work processes or management which, if resolved, will greatly improve the employee’s (and potentially other employees’) ability to achieve. Either way, asking the right questions will help minimize frustrations and set the stage for positive change that drives performance.

Looking for high performing employees?

Make Exact Staff your staffing partner. With a national presence, our Family of Companies is led by industry experts who understand the intricacies of your industry – and can rapidly deliver the exceptional talent you need.

Ready to learn more?

Contact a staffing expert at your local Exact Staff office today.