Sometimes, an employee in counseling will improve, then slip back to the previous level of performance. Why does this happen? What can you do to prevent it?
Generally, an underachiever fails long-term to improve for two reasons. One is that the counseling did not stick—once the extra attention was withdrawn, the employee fell back into old ways. The second reason is that an additional problem is affecting the employee’s performance, such as a personality conflict with you or with one of the employee’s coworkers. It may also be that the employee cannot sustain interest in the job at hand and has not been able to find motivation to continue to improve.
Dealing with this situation can be exasperating—so acknowledge your own personal feelings, then put them aside. You need to focus on what, if any, further constructive measures you can take to get the employee back on the right track. It may be time to make the tough decision to terminate the employee, if the employee doesn’t realize that both mind and body need to come to work.
Tips
Ensure that your employees meet your expectations by communicating them.
If employees slip up, discuss it as part of your monthly coaching session. If they continue to foul up, call them in for counseling.
If a task is difficult, break it into pieces. Use the one-on-one coaching meeting to teach one step at a time and build your employee’s self-confidence.
Encourage employees to discover new and better ways of doing things. When they find better methods, praise them for their new ideas.
Troubled employees are no different from employees with poor attitudes or skill deficiencies in that they must improve their performance, after a given period, or be terminated. Managers should not assume the role of psychologist or medical doctor. Rather, they should encourage the troubled employee to seek proper professional help.