As a business owner, your employees are vital to the success of your business. But managing people isn’t always easy. After all, a good boss can make or break a job for someone. While you should be striving to be an effective and successful leader, there are aspects of the role that can be challenging.
For example, what do you do when a previously good employee’s performance starts to take a nosedive?
How you deal with this situation depends on a number of factors, the most critical of which is the reason for their drop in performance. So why might this be?
They are dealing with a medical or substance problem
An employee might be unwell and dealing with a medical issue they have not disclosed to you. Alternatively, they may be dealing with substance addiction issues such as drugs or alcohol. Some companies have their employees undergo regular testing for illegal substances, business meth drug testing is available to detect this in employees. Depending on your company policy and the employee’s insurance, they might be able to access rehab services to help them deal with their problem.
They are no longer challenged by the role
Doing the same job day in and day out, with no promotion or other opportunities to grow and progress, could lead to a drop in productivity. People want to feel challenged and rewarded for their efforts. They will soon get bored and disengaged. If you value this employee, work with them to expand their role and map out a reasonable route of professional development and progression. Make sure that this is something you can deliver on or you will be facing the same issue again soo.
Workplace issues or bullying
We spend more time at work than we do at home. That’s why the relationships there are so important. If the employee in question is having issues with colleagues or managers, then this could affect their work performance. Ideally, they would be able to come to you or HR to discuss it, but many people don’t because they are scared of rocking the boat or making things worse.
Their role has changed
Well, performing employees are often given more and more tasks to do. This happens often, especially in small businesses. Eventually, these extra responsibilities have an impact on their core work, either because they don’t have the time and resources to perform properly, or because their skills aren’t right for the new tasks.
They’re looking for another job
Once someone has made the mental decision to leave a job, it can become difficult to stay motivated. Whether they’ve made the conscious decision to not work to their usual standard, or it’s a subconscious one, it’s a difficult situation to come back from.
Conclusion
Dealing with performance issues of employees is never easy, especially if they have a long record of strong performance. Rather than just unilaterally acting, going further to find out the cause is the best course of action, which could enable you to help them regain their performance levels.
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