What to Say When Addressing a Performance Issue

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The traditional method of providing constructive criticism/feedback would sound something like this:

"John, we need to talk about how things are going. You made some careless errors on the last several reports you handed in. You factored in the production labor costs incorrectly. I had to get other staff to rerun the numbers and as a result Tammy had to drop her own work to fix the mistakes you made. Now I feel I need to go through your month end reports with a fine tooth comb before I pass them onto the CFO, etc....".

Or

"Ann, we need to have a discussion to clarify your role and responsibilities. I've noticed the following issues: You are missing deadlines, not keeping people in the loop when deadlines are not going to be met and not demonstrating a sense of urgency to get the press releases out on time. From my perspective it appears that you don't have good time management skills based on not accomplishing key tasks within specified timeframes. On top of all this your attitude seems really lax when you do miss deadlines. What is going on with you?..."

What the manager has said in the examples above seems accurate. Most managers have been taught to create a bullet-proof case revolving around a list of the employee's shortcomings. After all, you have to prove to the employee that they are underperforming. Is it any wonder that most feedback recipients get defensive and feedback providers find difficultly in achieving anything remotely resembling a productive outcome, never mind gaining agreement on what needs to change?

THROUGH THE EYES OF THE EMPLOYEE
Can you think back to a time when a manager talked to you about a performance issue and did so without any finesse at all? From the employee's perspective when their manager does initiate a performance discussion it can come across as finger pointing, fault finding and disciplinary. Poorly crafted and delivered messages can trigger feelings of self-doubt and worthlessness for the employee. This is particularly true if this is the first time the employee is hearing the information. The traditional approach to giving feedback often comes across in a harsh, "this is what is wrong with you" tone.

Expect a Defensive Reaction
Once employees are confronted with this type of information the natural response is to blame others, fixate on the details, make excuses, try to explain why the feedback is incorrect, etc. All of this adds up to an uncomfortable and often confrontational exchange between the manager and employee. Once a manager has been through this process once or twice it becomes easier to just avoid addressing employee performance issues altogether. Let's just say there is no real mystery for why managers tend to steer clear of giving feedback and why employees don't like being on the receiving end! The fact of the matter is that there is a better way to introduce feedback to employees.

The key is to use words to describe what you want to have happen. 
I'm not sure where this quote originates so I cannot provide the proper credit, but I thought it was impactful: "A good leader can describe what successful performance looks like".  If you are familiar with Marshall Goldsmith's work you're likely familiar with the term "feedforward", which means describing what you want to see for future.  See this short video, How to Begin a Performance Conversation (and how not to), for specific language to introduce feedback in a helpful coaching type style. 

Letting Performance Issues Slide

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Development and retention of employees has become an important goal of most HR managers, but success lies in getting managers to address the hard to discuss performance issues with their employees. When these performance issues, which are often behavioral in nature, are addressed with employees instead of being swept under the rug, managers also open up the potential for employee development and improved retention rates. Helping managers identify the one key performance issue, craft the right words for the discussion, and manage the discussion and outcomes is the best strategy for developing and retaining employees.

Excuses and More Excuses

Managers will come up any excuse to rationalize their avoidance of addressing performance issues with employees, particularly those issues related to behavior. When the performance issue revolves around technical job skills, responsibilities and meeting goals, managers are usually very willing to raise, the issue with the employee. But when it comes to issues such as tone, approach, interpersonal skills or motivation the issue is typically avoided because managers are uncomfortable broaching the subject. While this avoidance can cause problems within the organization, i.e. nobody likes working with Sue because she's a jerk, it can also limit employee potential and contribution to the organizational goals. In other words, failure to address an employee performance issue not only does a disservice to the employee and their co-workers, but to the overall performance of the organization.

Result

Letting employee issues slide hurts the employee because the same issue will most likely haunt them from job to job and ultimately the organization loses out on tapping into the full potential of the individual.

Effectively Addressing Employee Performance Issues

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Most managers would rather immerse their hand in boiling water than give an employee feedback about poor performance. Yet most managers will comfortably discuss those issues with a sympathetic ear, either an HR contact, a peer manager or even someone at home.

What is clearly uncomfortable for the manager is having a direct conversation with the employee who has the performance issue:

• Often managers ultimately become so frustrated with the employee's performance they seek HR support to begin the process of terminating the employee.
• Upon questioning the manager and reviewing the personnel file, HR will often find that the employee in question was never provided any information regarding the seriousness of their performance deficiencies.
• The manager may admit they have not raised the issue with the employee or at best hinted at the issue in the past. In other words, the employee has no idea they are in danger of losing their job.

The traditional method in which managers provide performance feedback to employees is often the ultimate cause for why feedback is not always provided. 

Most managers believe they need to create a bullet-proof case revolving around a list of the employee's shortcomings. This approach usually results in a defensive reaction from the employee which makes it difficult to gain agreement on what needs to change. Once a manager has been through this process once or twice it becomes easier just to avoid addressing employee performance issues altogether. Let's just say there is no real mystery for why managers tend to steer clear of giving feedback about poor performance!

Feedback vs. Discpline

The good news is that managers are able to recognize and describe performance problems, but that usually means using language that feels like discipline. Sometimes we refer to this as constructive criticism. However this approach still feels like criticism and discipline.

Feedback:  a better, more productive approach 
Use positive words that describe the desired performance rather than off-putting words that describe the current underperformance.

Some Examples

1. If the employee lacks finesse when dealing with fellow employees and behaves like a bull in a china shop the manager would ask for the employee to develop a more polished and professional style.
2. When an employee makes frequent mistakes the manager would talk in terms of developing more accuracy. For the employee who chronically complains that everything is a problem the manager might ask the employee to develop a problem solving approach.

Be Specific
As these behavioral descriptions are broad it is important to further explain what the manager is looking for by providing specific positive examples of what they mean by a more polished and professional approach, more accuracy or a problem solving approach. Again, these examples should demonstrate positive behavior examples.

Explain the Importance
Lastly, it is useful to explain to the employee the benefit of developing the performance area. The manager must simply ask themselves, Why do I want the employee to make this change? In the case of the employee who makes frequent mistakes the manager may reason that in the finance environment accuracy is essential, therefore the month end reports must represent complete and correct data.

In Summary
This approach makes it easier for managers to address performance issues by talking in terms of the desired performance versus the undesired performance. It also specifically describes to the employee what the manager expects in terms of performance. Because it by-passes the negative descriptions and resulting negative reaction the employee is more likely to respond positively to the feedback. A simple rule of thumb is to provide the employee with the opportunity to receive the feedback and make progress on the issue. Only when it is clear that the employee is unwilling or unable to make progress should more extreme measures be used such as disciplinary actions or documented performance plans.

Click here to download our guide on Addressing Disruptive Employee Behaviors for more examples