The cost of labor in any type of business is an enormous expense and therefore, we must insure they are performing at their very best at all times. Anytime an employee or group of employees, are not producing up to an established standard it is very important to develop a performance improvement plan to reverse that trend immediately. Every day that we delay any action we are losing money which will be making it even harder to meet our budgeted financial goals.
In order to know if a staff member is performing to a desired standard we must first establish those standards. Secondly, it is equally important that any standard we establish must be a standard that is measurable, or it will be impossible for us to take action. Therefore, if your business produces a widget it is very important that you understand how much labor it takes to produce it.
So how will we know for sure if a standard is measurable or not? One of the most effective ways to develop standards that are measurable is to break down any larger task that must be performed into as many individual tasks as possible. By doing this it will help clearly identify what the employee may be not performing correctly. A good example of this would be to compare a sport like football where a player is running passing route, i.e., how they line up, how they break off the line, how they make their cut, etc.
So if we use the example of producing a widget that we spoke of earlier it is important that we separate out each individual step that must be performed to produce a widget. In order to do this right you must track and time each movement that is required in order to produce a widget that meets the standard. As your doing this record every necessary action that must be accomplished so that you can then ask the employee to perform them for you.
Now that you are able to determine what the problem is it is the time to formally produce an employee performance improvement plan so that you can hold the employee accountable. The performance plan should list the necessary steps, such as training, that you have determined will bring the employee up to standard. The plan should also have agreed upon time tables, provided they are reasonable, that the employee will have to meet. Those time tables should include several check points along the way to insure progress is being made.
Like all things in business it is very important that you document every aspect of the progress an employee is making within your performance improvement plan. Although it is never our intention, there are times when an employee will not be able to meet the minimum standard we have established and therefore we will be forced to terminate them. In the unlikely event an employee files a law suit against you for wrongful discharge your performance improvement plan and the documentation within it will be extremely valuable.
In order to know if a staff member is performing to a desired standard we must first establish those standards. Secondly, it is equally important that any standard we establish must be a standard that is measurable, or it will be impossible for us to take action. Therefore, if your business produces a widget it is very important that you understand how much labor it takes to produce it.
So how will we know for sure if a standard is measurable or not? One of the most effective ways to develop standards that are measurable is to break down any larger task that must be performed into as many individual tasks as possible. By doing this it will help clearly identify what the employee may be not performing correctly. A good example of this would be to compare a sport like football where a player is running passing route, i.e., how they line up, how they break off the line, how they make their cut, etc.
So if we use the example of producing a widget that we spoke of earlier it is important that we separate out each individual step that must be performed to produce a widget. In order to do this right you must track and time each movement that is required in order to produce a widget that meets the standard. As your doing this record every necessary action that must be accomplished so that you can then ask the employee to perform them for you.
Now that you are able to determine what the problem is it is the time to formally produce an employee performance improvement plan so that you can hold the employee accountable. The performance plan should list the necessary steps, such as training, that you have determined will bring the employee up to standard. The plan should also have agreed upon time tables, provided they are reasonable, that the employee will have to meet. Those time tables should include several check points along the way to insure progress is being made.
Like all things in business it is very important that you document every aspect of the progress an employee is making within your performance improvement plan. Although it is never our intention, there are times when an employee will not be able to meet the minimum standard we have established and therefore we will be forced to terminate them. In the unlikely event an employee files a law suit against you for wrongful discharge your performance improvement plan and the documentation within it will be extremely valuable.
About the Author:
Gregory Covey has provided a lot of information on a performance improvement plan on his website, Good Leadership Skills for Life. He has also provided several free performance plan examples.
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