by Samuel Gitukui
There are many situations in the workplace that can affect the performance of employees. Conflicts are one of them. For some managers rushing in and firing an employee seems to be the first and only way to solve the issue.
However, the best business leaders seek to understand the underlying issue and find solutions. In this way they can increase the motivation of the employee and boost their performance. Let’s find out a few ways on how to improve the motivation for an underperforming employee.
1. Ask for a Private Meeting
The best way to handle an employee is by asking them in for a one-on-one meeting. You want to avoid addressing the issue in front of peers and colleagues, as that can create resentment and cause them to get into a defensive state.
Instead ask them to the office and talk about what is causing their lack of motivation. The employee is more likely to open up. Once you have leant the issue, take time to find the best way to handle it. This makes the employee feel part of the family and is itself the first step towards making progress.
2. Analyzing the Problem
Some issues are easy to solve. If the employee is regularly arriving late, then reversing this situation is only a matter of managing time. Helping the employee understand what he is doing wrong should not be a lengthy process.
For some problems however, it’s a bit more complicated. Assume a situation where one of the employees doesn’t get along well with the rest of the colleagues.
This will require you to take time to decide how best to approach the matter before calling the employee back in for a second meeting.
3. Some Issues Can be Ignored
The best leaders will tell their employees what to do as well as how to do it. However, it is not a bad idea to let employees find their own solutions. Some employees will have a messy desk and look disorganized but could end up being quite productive.
Sometimes by letting such employees find their own solutions, you are able to determine whether they are affecting the productivity of the company. If not, then perhaps the issue is not worth calling them in for a meeting.
4. Don’t Waste Time
When a problem needs to be addressed, you need to do so with utmost speed. This will prevent the problem from persisting and spreading onto other employees.
When you solve the issue and the employee does in fact show progress, you also communicate to the rest of the workers that your instructions are to be adhered to and taken seriously and that you are not willing to accept complacency.
5. Don’t Make it Personal
Problems need to be handled the right way and this means avoiding making the employee feel like you are attacking them. Pass on your views and suggestions in a mature and calm way that does not create resentment in the employee.
There are many situations in the workplace that can affect the performance of employees. Conflicts are one of them. For some managers rushing in and firing an employee seems to be the first and only way to solve the issue.
However, the best business leaders seek to understand the underlying issue and find solutions. In this way they can increase the motivation of the employee and boost their performance. Let’s find out a few ways on how to improve the motivation for an underperforming employee.
1. Ask for a Private Meeting
The best way to handle an employee is by asking them in for a one-on-one meeting. You want to avoid addressing the issue in front of peers and colleagues, as that can create resentment and cause them to get into a defensive state.
Instead ask them to the office and talk about what is causing their lack of motivation. The employee is more likely to open up. Once you have leant the issue, take time to find the best way to handle it. This makes the employee feel part of the family and is itself the first step towards making progress.
2. Analyzing the Problem
Some issues are easy to solve. If the employee is regularly arriving late, then reversing this situation is only a matter of managing time. Helping the employee understand what he is doing wrong should not be a lengthy process.
For some problems however, it’s a bit more complicated. Assume a situation where one of the employees doesn’t get along well with the rest of the colleagues.
This will require you to take time to decide how best to approach the matter before calling the employee back in for a second meeting.
3. Some Issues Can be Ignored
The best leaders will tell their employees what to do as well as how to do it. However, it is not a bad idea to let employees find their own solutions. Some employees will have a messy desk and look disorganized but could end up being quite productive.
Sometimes by letting such employees find their own solutions, you are able to determine whether they are affecting the productivity of the company. If not, then perhaps the issue is not worth calling them in for a meeting.
4. Don’t Waste Time
When a problem needs to be addressed, you need to do so with utmost speed. This will prevent the problem from persisting and spreading onto other employees.
When you solve the issue and the employee does in fact show progress, you also communicate to the rest of the workers that your instructions are to be adhered to and taken seriously and that you are not willing to accept complacency.
5. Don’t Make it Personal
Problems need to be handled the right way and this means avoiding making the employee feel like you are attacking them. Pass on your views and suggestions in a mature and calm way that does not create resentment in the employee.
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