Productivity Is Declining As Experience Increases......What To Do With Such Employees

What to do with subordinates/employees who were working well in the initial years of their employment, but now have become rigid and don't want to improve on their productivity. Also, many of these individuals try to influence the new recruits to underperform so they are not faced with any fresh challenges to their positions.

What kind of solution do you suggest so that these senior employees start performing with more enthusiasm?

Dear Sandsky,

You could have given a little more information. Is this your idle intellectual curiosity or a real-life situation? If the latter, then what is the nature of the industry, and what is the education level of the employees? Do the employees have the same designation? If yes, then why have they not been elevated? What are their measures of performance? What training is conducted to improve their performance?

Have you planned the careers of the employees? Have the competencies of their current designation and future designation been identified? If yes, are they being groomed for future roles?

By the way, why was an alert not raised sooner when their performance slipped?

There are so many questions, gentlemen. You need to provide the answers so that a real solution can be provided.

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

Dear Sandsky,

Your subordinates are drinking "job poison" and they have no idea of it. You can easily handle it by inducting more fresh blood. One thing every entrepreneur should know is that every productive business needs a healthy mix of fresh and experienced blood.

Regards,
Umm-E-Abdullah

Dear Sandsky,

Dinesh Divekar has asked you relevant questions to which I will add one more; have you come across the term "Industrial Rate buster"? I have read about it at [Size of Industrial Organisation and Worker Behaviour - Geoffrey K. Ingham - Google Books](http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=EhM8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA46&lpg= PA46&q=dalton+industrial+rate+buster&a mp;source=bl&ots=B01tuLhYuv&sig=dd 0_ebVlGO3PP0kZbIdJlr_Z6Uo&hl=en&sa =X&ei=d_rDUt2gBuXb7Aby4ICYAw&ved=0 CDcQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=dalton%20industrial %20rate%20buster&f=false). The phenomenon that you have described is nothing new; it was described by Dalton as far back as 1948.

This is a real-life position in regional rural banks. Management is trying their best to improve productivity. However, in the present tech-savvy environment, senior employees feel that having a government job for the remaining 5 years is enough for them. Hence, whenever they are posted underperforming employees, they make a hue and cry, claiming they are being victimized by working under juniors. When they are made branch heads, they are unable to perform.

Dear Sndsky,

You have already received good inputs from others. I would like to add a little further. The employees who have started underperforming should be put in counseling sessions to come out of the underperforming mentality. Along with this, coaching and mentoring would also help a lot to improve behaviors.

When a performing employee starts underperforming, put them on a Performance Enhancement Plan.

Hope this helps.

Dear PWNKala,

This happens all over the world when people have secure jobs. My friend, who worked for a local authority in the UK, did not want to learn how to use a computer as he had only 3 years left until his retirement. He told me that there was a monetary benefit for him, and he was not going to do more than what he was already doing. Therefore, management had to decide to get rid of such people by offering them incentives to leave.

Hi Sandsky,

To add to the wonderful suggestions of our esteemed colleagues, do look at the following options as well:

1. 360 feedback to ascertain what caused these high-performing individuals to perform poorly in recent years. There may be multiple reasons within the organization or in their personal lives.

2. For employees nearing retirement, the above suggestions may not be applicable. Identify individuals in similar situations who are still actively learning and growing. Ask them about their reasons and consider using them as role models in your discussions.

3. Despite efforts, there may be individuals who resist change. In such cases, ensure that these individuals are not influencing or interacting closely with new recruits. Embrace their differences.

Regards,
Rajiv

Dear Sandy,

Many learned followers have given you a lot of theoretical and practical information about your problem. Here is mine, based on my experience.

1. It is quite likely that automation has taken place, rendering the competencies of old workers redundant. They may not be ready to accept this change and instead, are attempting to avoid job responsibilities, or there may be overstaffing which allows them to have leisure time.

SOLUTION: If the first scenario is the case, you can arrange for their training to enhance their skills and efficiency. If the second scenario is the case, reorganize your workforce by transferring employees between departments, ensuring the right person is in the right role. This will result in increased output with fewer employees.

2. There are instances where older employees enjoy job security, leading them to be somewhat undisciplined and to often delegate their job responsibilities to their juniors.

SOLUTION: Establish a clear hierarchy within the workforce - a very senior employee assisted by a few juniors, and each junior assisted by two or three new employees as required by the job. Set quantifiable targets to be achieved within specific timeframes and maintain regular monitoring. Positive results are likely to follow.

3. If these approaches do not yield results, it is possible that some senior employees may have the backing of their supervisors or may be representing unions. In such cases, handle the situation with tact and intelligence, as a misstep could escalate into industrial relations issues.

Best regards,
AK Jain

Still, the main question remains unanswered: whether a senior can be placed under a junior and if we do it, is it going to violate basic rules.

Dear All,

This is a very practical problem that deserves attention. With my 16 years of experience in HR consultancy, this has been an issue faced more than any other and by many organizations that have been victims of this phenomenon.

This is a lesson to be learned early in managing the human resources employed. A couple of issues that bring this phenomenon to light or panic is only when organizations feel the need for:

AUTOMATION - a very large resistance develops due to fear of losing jobs and increments in salary (loss of overtime wages, etc.).

ACQUISITION / SOLD TO A CORPORATE - MIXED FEELINGS - Fear of job loss, but also happiness that they may be paid well, etc.

PROFIT DECLINES - WITH INCREASED EFFORTS - This is what brings to light the inefficiency brewing inside the functional departments.

Now, to get rid of this, the following inputs are required for the employees and the employers:

1. When organizations globally are working towards profitability through systems, process changes, re-engineering, and innovation within the organization to face the buyers market, we should dispel the fear intrinsic in the minds that it is not a change for individuals but a change for the organization itself. Failure to cope can lead to closure. "If this is the case for an organization, we are the employees and together we need to survive" should be etched in the minds of employees.

2. Performance Management systems, with inclusive learning for additional skills or knowledge, should become a part of any growing organization.

3. Appreciation for good skills and applicators' knowledge should be welcome, and they can become motivators and internal trainers to groom the rest.

4. Today we are concentrating on reverse learning, i.e., application-oriented ease at work, and systems that are effective for best results, to be taught by seniors to juniors and juniors to teach and train seniors in new technology or the updating required for excellence in line with the market demand.

Well, to implement all this, a true HR soul is required with an understanding that manpower, when handled correctly, is an asset with multiplied returns.

Wishing all a Happy New Year,

Nalina.K

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