Why Do Star Employees Struggle in New Organizations? Share Your Experiences

Why Do Employees Fail to Perform in a New Organization?

An employee was a star performer in their previous organization. Another organization hired them with the expectation that they would perform well, but they failed badly in the new organization. There may be several reasons for this:

- Couldn't analyze the needs of the organization and what is expected from them.
- Poor support from the management.
- Couldn't understand or adjust to the new environment.
- Victim of bullying and harassment by existing employees.

There are many more reasons. Do not panic in this situation; be calm and analyze the situation and needs. Prepare a plan and discuss it with the management. The important thing is to mix with the employees and make them feel that you are not a threat to them.

I have faced the same situation and have seen it with employees I have hired. I am looking to know your experiences.

Regards,
Shaikh Abedeen
Human Resources Professional

I agree and see eye to eye on the issues relating to employees performing under a new organization. Basically, we cannot solely blame the employer or the circumstances prevailing in and around. The employee should understand the targets and expected outcomes. It is easier to take steps to reach those targets and measure performance along the way.

If the employee has poor insight into how the organization works despite training on company culture, it is certainly intricate as employees may not be able to report affirmatively. Beginning to practice company-specific activities will provide adequate knowledge of what to do and what not to do. Management and others may not approach us; however, if new, we should be in a position to handle things/learning effectively. This is where employees impede.

I have left a couple of organizations without truly giving myself time to understand, and looking back today, it makes me feel regretful.

Hence, I would recommend any employee to give themselves a little time to comprehend the structure and the company- or industry-specific activities before diving in.

Please let me know if you need any clarification or further information.

Best regards

The employee is equally responsible for his/her poor performance. I appreciate your post, but it takes time to settle and perform. However, ground-level staff prefer to quit rather than understanding the situation.

There are a few employees who warmly welcome new employees. Employees need to be strong enough to face the situation.

But ground-level staff prefer to quit rather than understanding the situation. There are a few employees who warmly welcome new employees. Employees need to be strong enough to face the situation.

Understanding Probation

And that is the reason why we call it "Probation," where the need to learn (by the employee) and the services to be drawn from employees (by the employer) should go hand in hand. This understanding is essential for both parties involved.

Analyzing Employee Performance in a New Organization

In a case like this, you need to analyze why the employee was a star performer in his or her previous position. Oftentimes, many of the reasons will relate to management style and organizational culture.

I am not setting myself up as a star performer, but on a couple of occasions, I have taken on a new position and been faced with the worst micromanagers God ever put on this earth. I am used to dealing with managers who set out what needs to be done but then leave me to get on with it. At the end of the day, they hired me for my skills, so they have no need to tell me how to do my job.

Most employees have a preferred management style they work best with. You need to ascertain this information in the interview BEFORE you hire the person. If your managers are all hands-on micromanagers, then you are always going to have problems. You will never be able to retain high-performing staff, as they cannot and will not work under those conditions.

You might need to start training your managers on how to be managers first.

Nice to see the post from the community members. The star performer at the current organization could have been able to perform effectively well, which could also be attributed to skills that matched the requirement for the role, support from the superiors, peers, etc. However, as they move to another organization, the skill sets required to perform in the new organization could be different due to changes in expectations, change of culture, new team to work with, etc., and hence the person may not be able to perform well in the new setup. Hence, it is important to understand the role and the expectations as you join the new organization.

Regards.

The role of the HR function is crucial in ensuring employee performance in any organization. A new employee in the organization can understand his/her roles, get acquainted with company policies, procedures, work culture, and reporting structure with the help of a well-designed and implemented training program. The new employee gets a chance to interact with his/her immediate manager and other employees to get to understand each other through effective Employee Engagement activities. Employee one-on-one meetings allow employees and employers to identify expectation gaps. Hence, strong HR functions in the organization can reduce such cases and enable employees to give their best.

Regards,
Vali.