Underperformance is like a death knell for a business. Suppose a workforce is not doing what they can to achieve individual and organizational goals. In that case, the business is wasting precious resources sustaining teams that are not contributing sufficiently to mutual gain. Business leaders must identify and rectify underperformance as quickly as possible to keep their organization headed toward productivity and profitability.
Fortunately, underperformance does not develop out of anywhere. Business leaders should watch for the following early warning signs that underperformance is imminent and take appropriate action to keep their workforce on the path to success.
The organization is not achieving key goals
Business leaders should use key performance indicators (kpis) to track an organization’s achievement of identified goals. If the kpis do not indicate that goals are on track to be completed in the desired time frame, leaders can be relatively sure that either their workforce is underperforming or their goals were unreasonable from the start. Implementing a performance management process will give leaders more insight into what the workforce is doing. It might be helpful for leaders to use a system like smart goals to ensure that their organizational objectives are actionable and achievable.
Employees are not communicating effectively
Different people communicate in different ways, but if a worker stops communicating with their leadership altogether, it is a good sign that they are dissatisfied with their current circumstances and likely to perform more poorly in the immediate future. Managers should pay close attention to the communication patterns of their team members and intervene if they notice a shift in any worker’s willingness to communicate. Fortunately, this warning sign is easy to detect and rectify, so astute leaders can prevent communication from severely impacting performance.
Leadership’s expectations for workers are not being met
Business leaders have expectations for their workforce, and it is the leadership’s responsibility to communicate those expectations clearly and continuously. In many workplaces, employees are on-boarded without any clarification of expectations from leaders, and this miscommunication can result in the perception of low performance. When expectations are not being met, leaders should take the time to explain what they need from their workers, as it is most likely that workers simply did not understand what was expected.
Complaints are rampant
Because leaders have responsibilities that demand their attention, most leaders rely on their employees for information about clients, processes, projects, workers, and other aspects of the work environment. Thus, when employees begin to complain about some work element, leaders need to pay attention. Rarely will workers complain loudly and consistently about an issue they are capable of handling on their own; if a problem is garnering significant complaints, managers need to find solutions to the issue before it has the chance to interrupt performance.
Employees have challenges in their personal lives
Unfortunately, it is not always possible for workers to keep their work and home lives separate. When an employee is experiencing significant challenges in their personal life, they might not produce the same level of results as a leader has come to expect. There is little that a business leader can do to help workers through difficult personal situations; offering plenty of support and sympathy is critical, and leaders should remain patient for this phase of personal trouble to pass.
Conclusion
Business leaders must remember that underperformance is not the same as misconduct. It is possible for a business leader not to approve of certain employee behaviors. If they significantly impact productivity or profitability, it might not be necessary for leaders to intervene. If a leader notices any of the above indications of underperformance, they must quickly identify the cause and resolve the problem.
Underperformance can begin as an individual issue, but it does not take long for the organization to suffer. Combatting underperformance should be a top priority. Fortunately, using the early warning signs described above and other known indications that an underperforming workforce can save a business from failure.
