Senior Employee's Performance Slipping: How Would You Address and Motivate Them?

One of the co-workers presented me with a situation: you are an HR person, and one of your employees, who has many years of experience in this company, has recently shown poor performance and is frequently taking leave. However, the company doesn't want to lose this employee as he is very important and the most senior person, and the company cannot afford to face losses. In this kind of situation, how can you inform that employee and motivate him?

You could have mentioned that the employee in question needs to be given feedback by his/her senior. There is a procedure for counseling. Click here to refer to my reply to a past post. If this does not help, then we have to follow the process of progressive discipline. This issue needs to be handled by the seniors of that employee, and there is no room for delegation in this case.

If the interviewer had persisted, you could have explained that we cannot afford to focus on the person but rather on the performance issues and handle the matter accordingly.

By the way, what reply did you give that you have not mentioned?

All the best!

Regards,
Dinesh V Divekar

In this situation, we need to counsel and understand the employee first rather than assuming anything. Maybe he/she is having some problems in professional or personal life, which is affecting his/her performance. We need to give him space to talk instead of policing.

After all the above, we need to motivate the employee by referring to his or her past performances and results. Also, we need to compare his/her current performance and suggest where the gap is. We can tell the employee that they were an example among all the employees, and if their performance declines, employees/management will lose trust.

Lastly, the company needs results, and one has to deliver. If not, then we need to follow a "Performance Improvement Plan" to tackle the situation.

Regards,
Chill HR

Handling Performance Issues with Senior Employees

In this situation, we need to counsel and understand the employee first rather than assuming anything. Maybe he or she is having some problems in professional or personal life, causing a decline in performance. We need to give them space to talk instead of policing.

After addressing the above, we need to motivate the employee by referencing their past performances and results. Additionally, we need to compare their current performance and identify where the gap lies. We can inform the employee that they were an example among all employees, and if their performance declines, employees and management will lose trust.

Ultimately, the company requires results, and one must deliver. If not, we need to implement a "Performance Improvement Plan" to address the situation.

Regards,
Chill HR

Addressing Senior Employee Performance Issues

What Rajeshree has written pertains to the most senior employee. When the most senior employee does not perform, can we follow the regular route of "counseling" or "PIP"? And if so, who will take on this task? Would it be a junior person like Rajeshree? Have you ever observed a senior employee put on a "PIP" or counseled by junior HR?

Don't you think there is a mismatch between the question asked and the solution proposed?

As I mentioned in my previous post, ideally, this situation should be handled by the MD himself. It cannot be delegated to a junior employee. How the MD deals with this situation would be a valuable lesson for juniors like Rajeshree. The MD need not even consult someone like her as it may diminish her position. If he wishes to seek advice, he may consider hiring an external consultant.

Thanks,
Dinesh V Divekar

Here are my thoughts on this situation:

Strategic Intervention in Employee Performance Issues

One must be a strategic interventionist to deal with this situation. This could truly reveal one's core personal values and what has impacted a person in any circumstances. Avoid motivation; create a context for him and his life, and in the process, leave him transformed.

All the best,

Regards, Kalyan

Since it's an interview question and not an actual situation, you need to take a stand that demonstrates your decision-making and subject matter expertise. For that, you need to always probe a little more whenever there is a situation. Probing helps to corner the interviewer and gives you time to come to a conclusion. If I were in your place, I would have asked: Is the person in sales or delivery? How big is his team?

The answer could be sales, handling a team of 15 people.

In that case, I would try to find out if he has any personal issues compelling him to take a leave. I would allow him an absence from the office on specific days to suit him without compromising on his sales target. I will reiterate the target he has to achieve regardless of leaves and working from home. Secondly, I will talk to the senior-most subordinate in his team and give him partial responsibility for team handling.

Great question, and one that was asked to assess your capability as a good HR professional in the following areas:

- Are you capable of handling senior members?
- Are you proactive in your approach?
- Do you have the capability to think out of the box (be innovative in your approach)?

So what would my approach be to this problem? Quite different from what has been proposed till now... :-)

I will try to first explain what my opinion is of the problem itself, and then maybe the solution that I propose would make more sense.

About the Employee:

- Committed (long-term employment)
- Performer (Has been a top performer previously)
- Industry recognition (Management doesn't want to lose him, an important person) - This can't be only because of what management feels, but also because of how the market will react to the news of his leaving the organization. A true "key member" profile.

About His Present Condition:

- Depressed (Can't face losses and taking leaves regularly)
- Demotivated (Too frequent leaves and no proactive activity being done to change the situation)

Speculation About His Thought Process:

- No value in trying to get out of the situation (Given up - hopeless situation)
- Not happy doing the same thing again and again (No interest hence no activity)
- Communication failure (His communication channel with Management is not as effective as before. The chances are that they are not listening. He tried, no effect, and hence no more)

It is a misconception that motivation can only be done by a senior. Anyone can motivate anybody... You just need to know how. A classic example is that of a child - unconsciously a parent gets motivated so easily by children, don't they?

So What Would My Approach Be?

I will start an informal dialogue with the senior professional. I will immediately transform him into the role of an advisor. I will play the same scenario back to him (telling him about a fictitious friend having a problem and how I need to help them and how I felt he would be the right person to advise me on this because of his profile, expertise, and experience) and ask him what the possible solution would be... :-). I will repeatedly go to him over the next few days, deliberately steering the conversation more and more deeply into the situation, arguing, discussing, steering him towards his own experiences with the whole purpose of getting him to relive his past glories again... and again... questioning him why the same can't be done now, what changed, and why. I will ensure that all along he is in the "teacher" mode sharing knowledge.

In a few dialogues, you WILL get the root cause of the existing problem, and the chances are that the solution will also be there, right in front of you. By doing this exercise, you will not only inform the candidate but also motivate him.

The chances are that you will need to get this professional to transform from a performer to a mentor. His job role needs to change. He needs to become a teacher. He should not be the performer but a creator of multiple similar performers. His new role as a creator will give him new energy and motivation to once again achieve and succeed. That is, in my honest opinion, one of the ways to convert this desperate situation into a win-win situation for everyone, all around.

Just my way of handling the situation, and opinions will differ on how effective it can be... :-)

Cheers and a happy festival season for everyone.

Regards,
Navneet Chandra