When strong employees struggle, dig deeper to find the problem

When an employee starts missing deadlines or turning in work that’s not quite up to snuff, it’s easy for a manager to diagnose the issues as a performance issue. But underneath that, the main issue may be a lack of clear direction or processes that bog down the work and make it harder than it needs to be.

During Ragan’s Employee Experience Conference in Nashville this August, Jamesia Harrison, director of university communications at North Carolina State University, will share how managers and communicators can figure out whether an employee is unwilling or unable to do their job, needs help building a specific skill or is being slowed down by the way the work is set up.

She told Ragan that managers should begin their evaluation with a question before labeling any employee’s performance.

“Look at what changed before you look at who changed,” Harrison said. “High performers typically don’t become low performers overnight. Priorities may have shifted, communication may have become unclear, workloads may have changed or the employee may no longer feel supported.”

In addition, leaders should look at whether employees were given enough context, examples and direction.

“Communication doesn’t always equal understanding,” Harrison added. “Leaders can announce a new direction, but they also need to give examples of what that direction looks like in practice.”

Did the manager set a clear expectation?

Managers can’t fairly judge the quality of work if an employee was never given a clear picture of the assignment. Before looking at the result, they should explain what needs to be delivered and what good work looks like. In addition, the deadline for support available should also be clear.

• What needs to be delivered?
• What does a strong result of the work look like?
• When is it due?
• Where should the employee go if they need help?

For instance, instead of telling an employee to improve the quality of a newsletter draft, a comms manager can tell them to write a more engaging headline, include bullets with definitive calls to action and provide a concrete EOD deadline.

Harrison recommends asking the employee to explain the assignment back in their own words. That gives the manager a chance to catch confusion before it becomes a missed deadline.

“You can say, ‘This is what we need from you by the end of the day Friday. Is that something you can do?’” she said. “If they can’t, ask what they need or when they realistically think they can have it done.”

Can the employee do the work?

Even when expectations are clear, the employee may not have the skills or confidence to do the work. Managers should look for signs of uncertainty before treating it as a lack of effort. For instance, repeated questions or delays close to a deadline can serve as a sign that an employee is unsure how to approach a task and needs guidance from their manager.

Harrison told Ragan that managers need to gauge their employee’s confidence before assuming that they’re unwilling to do the work.

“Ask them, ‘On a scale of one to 10, how confident are you that you can actually perform this and get the deliverable to me in the most accurate way?’” she said.

A low score gives the manager a place to start. They can ask which parts feel unfamiliar and point the employee toward the right training, colleague or resource. On top of that, they could provide more coaching on areas the employee flags as unfamiliar.

“I appreciate the employee who says, ‘Hey, I’m not sure how to do this,’” Harrison said. “None of us are perfect. With technology changing on a daily basis, there may be skills someone just isn’t privy to yet.”

Is the process getting in the way?

Managers also need to pay attention to where their employees might lose time while working on assignments. Too many approval processes can slow the work down, as can unclear handoffs. For example, an employee who misses a deadline may not necessarily be working too slowly. Instead, six or seven rounds of approvals could tie up their project before they’re able to submit it. It’s on a manager to figure out where these pitfalls lie.

“People often try to improve the people before they try to improve the work itself,” Harrison said. “Just because we’ve been doing something for the last 10 years doesn’t mean it’s the best process for today.”

Harrison brought NC State’s retail manager into the approval process for merchandise and its marketing after university-branded merch wasn’t selling and had to be repeatedly marked down. The manager understood university standards, but the process lacked input from someone who knew what students were actually buying.

For managers, a big lesson is to stay curious about what’s going on with their employees just a bit longer. A missed deadline or a weak submission could be a sign of a problem, but it won’t tell you exactly why that problem exists.

“Before you start labeling people as not wanting to do it or not knowing how to do it, take a closer look at the tools and processes you’re asking them to work with,” Harrison told Ragan.

To register for Ragan’s Employee Experience Conference, click here.

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. You can connect with him on Linkedin here.