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

What to do with sub-ordinates/employees who were working well in the initial years of their employment, but now have become rigid and doesn\'t want to improve on their productivity. Also many of these species try to influence the new recruits to under perform so they are not faced with any fresh challenges to their positions.
What kind of solution do you suggest so that these senior guys start performing with more josh?

Dear sandsky,
You could have given little more information. Is this your idle intellectual curiosity or real life situation? If latter then what is the nature of industry, what is education level of employees? Do the employees have the same designation? If yes, then why they are not elevated? What are their measures of performance? What training is conducted to improve their performance?
Did you plan the career of the employees? Have the competencies of their current designation and future designation are identified? If yes, then are they groomed for future role?
By the way, why alert was not raised sooner their performance slipped?
There are so many questions gentleman. You need to provide the answers then only real solution can be provided.
Thanks,
Dinesh V Divekar

Dear Sandsky,
Your sub ordinates 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 that every productive business needs a healthy mix of fresh and experienced blood.
Regards,
Umm-E-Abdullah

Dear Sandsky,
Dinesh Divekar as 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
The phenomenon that 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 BEST TO IMPROVE THEIR PRODUCTIVITY BUT IN THE PRESENT TECH SAVVY ENVIROMENT ,SENIOR EMPLOYEES FEEL THAT ENOUGH FOR THEM FOR REMAINING 5 YEARS GOVT JOB ,HENCE WHENEVER THEY ARE POSTED UNDER PERFORMING EMPLOYEES,THEY MAKE HUE AND CRY THAT THEY ARE BEING VICTIMISED BY WORKING UNDER JUNIORS AND WHEN THEY ARE MADE BRANCH HEAD 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 counselling sessions to come out of the underperforming mentality. Alongwith this coaching and mentoring would also help a lot to improve behaviours.
When the performing employee starts under performing put them on 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 for his retirement. He told me that there was something in it (monetary benefit) for him, he was not going to do more than what he was doing. So, management have to decide to get rid of such people by offering them incentive to leave.

Hi Sandsky,
To add to the wonderful suggestions of our esteemed colleagues, do look at the following options also.
1. 360 feedback ascertaining what led these above par performers fair poorly in the recent years. There could be multiple reasons within the organization and or in their personal lives.
2. For people who are near retirement, the above might not apply. Look for people who have similar situation and yet learning new things - ask these guys the reasons and probably use them as role models in your discussion.
3. Still there are people who would not be doing this, make sure these people are far away from the new recruits. Accept them.
Regards,
Rajiv

Dear Sandy,

Many learned followers have give you many theoretical and practical information about your problem. Here is mine, with my experience.

1. It is just likely that automation has taken place, which has made the competencies of old workers redundant, which they are not ready to accept, instead, they are just trying to escape job/job responsibility OR there is over staffing which allows them to have leisure.

SOLUTION : If 1st is the case, you can arrange for their training to enhance their skill and efficiency. If second is the case, re-organize your manpower, you can transfer employees from one department to another, and put right man on right job. This will result in more output with lesser number of men.

2. There are instances that old employee enjoy job security which makes them somewhat undisciplined and often they throw their job and responsibility on their juniors. SOLUTION : Organize manpower hierarchy, I mean - one very senior, assisted by a few juniors, juniors assisted by 2 or three new employees as per the requirement of job. Put a quantitative target to be achieved during a given point/period of time. Keep regular monitoring. The results are bound to come.

3. If these things fail, it is very likely that some of the seniors might be enjoying backing of their Controlling Officers or they might be representing Unions. In this case you have to handle the issue intelligently, because one wrong step will raise IR problem issues.

AK Jain

STILL THE MAIN QUESTION REMAINS UNREPLIED THAT WETHER SENIOR CAN BE PLACED UNDER JUNIOR AND IF WE DO IT ,IS IT GOING TO VIOLATE BASIC RULES