There are three types of employee performance management discussions that you can have with your employees, in general, the more proactive you are in using the first type the less you will feel inclined to use the other two.
The three type of employee performance management discussion you can have with your people are
Informal counseling or a Fire Side Chat (Pre discipline intervention)
Formal counseling
Formal warning
(Note: Email is a highly ineffective tool for conducting a performance discussion and it is not recommended even if you have a virtual team)
In Employee Performance Management the pre-discipline intervention is not used for acts of gross misconduct; always check with your HR Manager or adviser before terminating an employee’s performance.
It is good practice to check with your HR adviser before issuing a performance warning.
In this section the term performance will mean job performance or behavior.
When an employee first fails to meet the required standard of behavior or job performance, you will talk to the employee about their performance; however, you will not want to rush to a formal performance discussion.
A good start is to have a “fire side chat” with the employee.
Definition: Fire Side Chat:
In Employee Performance Management a fireside chat is an informal discussion with the employee, it is best held in a private yet relaxed environment away from a closed door meeting room or office.
It is an opportunity for you to discuss the recent performance of concern with the employee and for you to clarify your expectations.
The employee may highlight mitigating circumstances or just admit they are not on track. You are giving the employee an opportunity to open up to you and discuss any issues.
During the discussion you will consider any mitigating circumstances; however, you will develop an action plan to get the employee back on track.
The employee does not need a witness, check your local laws. No formal record of the discussion is kept however, you will need to keep a diary note (or file note).
You will need to follow up on all actions.
Management tip:
If an employee is fit to work then they are fit to meet all expectations.
Your employee might be having a difficult time outside of work, by all means do what is reasonable to help the employee. (Refer them to an employee assistance program or allow them to use personal or sick leave).
A good leader will not accept poor on the job performance due to outside influences, it is not good for the business and not good for the employee.
What if the employee does not open up?
Then you cannot help them – do not push the point, if the issue is personal you have no right to know and they are under no obligation to advise you of their personal issues. (However, you cannot take them into consideration as a mitigating factor if, later, performance does not improve).
Note: If you had a fireside chat with an employee a year ago about being late and their performance improved, however, they were late again today you will have another fireside chat as after such a time it is not reasonable to progress directly to the next step.
Formal Counseling (Sometimes called a verbal warning)
Performance has not improved sufficiently since your fireside chat, what next?
Each region has different legislation; hence this page is kept generic. To clarify obligations on employers in your region please talk to your human resource advisor.
Now you need to shift to formal counseling.
In Employee Performance Management for formal counseling the employee is typically given 24 hours notice of the need to have a performance discussion and advised that they are entitled to a witness. (Check your local laws and employment contracts). The employee is also advised what the discussion is going to be about.
During the formal counseling session you will
Clarify expectations and agree actions to resolve the performance issue
Explain the consequences of not improving
Formally document the key points of the discussion
Place a documented copy of the discussion in the employees file
Provide the employee with documented copy of the discussion
Set a review date
(It seems odd but verbal warnings tend to be documented and a copy of the warning is given to the employee)
Note: It is common to have a company witness at these meetings
Formal warning (Often two written warnings are given)
Performance has not improved sufficiently since your formal counseling session.
How much time do you allow to see an improvement?
It depends on what you are counseling the employee for and how long is “reasonable” to measure improvements. Some examples:
If you are counseling someone for not ringing in when they are off sick, then you can take the next step next time they do not follow your process.
If the counseling is for low work rate and the employee is receiving extra training you may need to wait a month, or longer, to see improvements.
The formal warning follows the same process as the informal warning. However, this time you will refer back to the previous counseling session.
Plan and prepare for a performance discussion
A good leader will spend an hour or more preparing for a performance discussion the preparation time will increase the more counseling the employee is involved in. You will use your preparation time to
Ensure you have your facts in order
Have specific example(s) listed in date order
Ensure you are treating all people equally
Review the employees performance file and list previous, relevant, performance discussion in date order
Ensure you have positive examples of the employees contribution
Consider how you will approach the discussion
Ensure you have a room available and your company witness is briefed on their role
Where possible, discuss your plan with a human resource practitioner or your manager
Think through the outcome you are seeking from the discussion and be aware of your options
Employee Performance Management using the 6 Step Counseling Process
Outline the performance problem using specific examples
Explain the impact of the problem
Discuss the cause or reasons for the performance problem
Clarify the required performance standard or behavior
Explore possible solutions to rectify the performance problem
Develop an agreed action plan
A good leader will follow up on all actions.
Employee Performance Management Tips for the Performance Discussion
You will find some employees are skilled at getting off track in employee performance discussions. You will need to have the staying on track leadership skill.
To stay on track all you need to do is persistently restate the performance problem, every time the employee side tracks the discussion.
For Example: “I appreciate that some employees might not be wearing their safety glasses; however we are here to discuss you not wearing safety gloves when decanting chemicals”
Do not loose your temper, if you do your employees will quickly learn the right buttons to press and will make a game of provoking you.
Do not raise your voice, it does not matter how loud you speak as long as your employee can hear. Yelling does not improve communication; your people will not gain a better understanding from you and will not respect you.
The employee does not need a witness for a fireside chat, check you local laws and employment contracts to confirm, you can say no if the employee requests one.
Always ensure the employee understands that you value their contribution, except in exceptional circumstances
in Employee Performance Management, if the employee has a witness you can request that they remain silent during the discussion, if they insist in interrupting you can ask them to leave the discussion
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