Categories: Management Skills ,  Performance Management

Managing Poor Performance

Course Outline
Managing poor performance is a responsibility that most managers find at best unpleasant, and at worst, extremely daunting. Unfortunately, this often means that poor performance is not actually managed - it is left to get slowly worse, in the hope that the person will eventually decide to leave of their own accord. This course will equip front-line managers with the skills and knowledge to deal confidently and professionally with poor performers. It will show delegates how to use appropriate formal and informal processes of support, training & development, meetings and reviews to enable performance to get back on track, and to avoid escalating problems for everyone involved.

Key Aims
• To enable the development of key skills in performance management
• To explore the benefits of improving poor performance using a positive and professional model of support and direction
• To examine a range of tools and techniques that enable the effective management of poor performance
• To enable participants to recognize and deal with poor performance in their teams
• To enable participants to plan their continuing development in performance management

Key Benefits
Participants will be able to:
• Identify and respond to the causes of poor performance
• Give honest and constructive feedback
• Deal with difficult and aggressive employees
• Deal with people with emotional difficulties
• Strive to reach win/win solutions to poor performance

The organisation will:
• Have a more efficient and productive workforce
• Have more confident and competent managers
• Have more motivated team members
• Reduce levels of stress and sickness
• Improve staff attendance and retention

Outline Programme
• Types of poor performance - Categorising the various reasons why an individual’s performance may not be considered satisfactory.
• Causes of poor performance - Identifying the source and nature of poor performance in an individual.
• Positive responses – Identifying good practice in responding to poor performance.
• Customising the approach – Responding to the needs and characteristics of the individual in order to get the most effective outcomes.
• Giving feedback – Using an assertiveness model to ensuring that feedback given is direct, honest and constructive.
• Dealing with difficult and aggressive behaviour - Dealing effectively and professionally with employees who display difficult and/or aggressive behaviour.
• Dealing with emotional difficulties - Dealing effectively and professionally with people whose emotional problems are the root cause of their poor performance.
• Win/win solutions – Using a positive model of negotiation to agree a range of solutions that will be in the interest of both the poor performer, and the organisation/ department.
• Improvement objectives and targets – Setting SMART objectives that encourage accountability and help to ensure that changes are made.
• Personal development planning - Identifying continuing personal development needs and extending learning into the workplace.