5 Ways to Help Underperformers Become Better, Rise Up

Some employees aim low – and do just enough to hit their mark.

They’re underperformers, and you’ve probably had one or two on your finance team. You’ll likely have another one or two again.

Slackers on staff suck the energy out of their colleagues, too — often leading to resentment and team dysfunction.

How Many Underperformers?

Some organizations classify 20% of their employees as underperformers, according to research from CultureAmp. The average, though, is 4% of people underperforming. There’s a long-standing stat that suggests managers spend almost 20% of their time – that’s one day a week – managing underperformers. But it would vary from person to person.

But consider this: Nearly 13% of companies pay bonuses to every employee, and another 42% pay bonuses to nearly everyone (which was 80%-99% of employees), according to a Gartner study. So some companies are paying bonuses to underperformers!

Helping underperformers do better will save time and money. So how do you take an underperformer to the ranks of an adequate employee?

These ideas will help:

Be Realistic

First, be realistic: Very few low performers will become top performers. They aren’t wired to do much more than the minimum.

But that’s OK. Every employer needs people who show up, do their jobs and make the day-to-day things happen.

Consider what your slackers are capable of and set the bar around there — slightly above what they’re doing now and somewhat below what you’d expect from the best.

Seriously Lay It on the Line

Most underperformers have not stuck their heads in the sand. They’re aware that they don’t do as well as others.

But some managers don’t lay it on the line because … well, it’s uncomfortable to discuss.

One of the most important things managers can do to help underperformers improve is be honest: Show them where they stand against the team, how it affects everyone and how they must improve.

You don’t need to name names, but do show them where they stand in performance against others doing the same work. You might create a graph showing quality or quantity goals met. Or use a chart to show the percentage of work produced or goals achieved across department employees, pointing to the underperformer’s low rank.

Reduce Tolerance

Employees who struggle to perform well often turn into deliberate slackers because they and those around them start to tolerate the shortcomings – maybe chalking it up to, “that’s just the way he is.”

But you don’t want to leave any wiggle room when working with underperformers.

Small setbacks, or even coming up shy of a goal or expectation, may not seem like a big deal on the surface. But if you tolerate them, low performers will keep falling back on their bad habits.

If you must, create consequences that mean something to underperformers for missing goals. That might include losing flexible work privileges.

Encourage Realistically

All employees need a boss who motivates and inspires them. While it usually takes a special effort to inspire underperformers, they still crave it.

You want to keep conversations positive, focusing on what low performers can do and how they can translate those skills and wins into other areas of their workload. For instance, if a low performer misses deadlines but seldom makes errors, help her identify ways to channel that attention to detail into sensible time-management techniques.

Communicate Fairly

When employees fail to meet expectations, managers sometimes cast them as people who can’t contribute. Then they unintentionally share less information and solicit fewer opinions.

To build better relationships with and improve the performance of slackers on staff:

• Share information equally
• Invite their opinions, and
• Wait for, listen to and act on feedback.

Schedule regular time to do those three things with low performers. It helps build their confidence, which they often lack, and gives you time to uncover and understand what’s holding them back.