The cost of labor in any type of business is an enormous expense and therefore, we must insure they are performing at their very best at all times. Anytime an employee or group of employees, are not producing up to an established standard it is very important to develop a performance improvement plan to reverse that trend immediately. Every day that we delay any action we are losing money which will be making it even harder to meet our budgeted financial goals.
Understanding that in order for us to know whether our employee or employees are performing to a set standard we must first develop and establish those standards. As we do develop those standards they must be measurable, or they will mean nothing. So if your company makes widgets then we must know how much labor it will take to produce those widgets.
What will determine if we can measure a standard or not? When establishing any performance standard it is best to break down the entire task into a number of smaller individual ones that can be measured. If we are able to accomplish this it will make it much easier to identify what help the employee may need. Using an example such as sports we could compare the process to the movements a basketball player makes during a layup, i.e., ball handling, angle of the approach, speed of the approach, timing of the actual shot, etc.
Therefore if we are trying to produce a widget like we talked about above it is crucial that we determine each step necessary that is required to accomplish making a great widget. The most effective way to accomplish this is to time and count every necessary step that is required in order to make an acceptable widget. The next important process is to record every step that must be performed so that you can then evaluate the employee performing them for you.
Now that you are able to determine what the problem is it is the time to formally produce an employee performance improvement plan so that you can hold the employee accountable. The performance plan should list the necessary steps, such as training, that you have determined will bring the employee up to standard. The plan should also have agreed upon time tables, provided they are reasonable, that the employee will have to meet. Those time tables should include several check points along the way to insure progress is being made.
Like all things in business it is very important that you document every aspect of the progress an employee is making within your performance improvement plan. Although it is never our intention, there are times when an employee will not be able to meet the minimum standard we have established and therefore we will be forced to terminate them. In the unlikely event an employee files a law suit against you for wrongful discharge your performance improvement plan and the documentation within it will be extremely valuable.
Understanding that in order for us to know whether our employee or employees are performing to a set standard we must first develop and establish those standards. As we do develop those standards they must be measurable, or they will mean nothing. So if your company makes widgets then we must know how much labor it will take to produce those widgets.
What will determine if we can measure a standard or not? When establishing any performance standard it is best to break down the entire task into a number of smaller individual ones that can be measured. If we are able to accomplish this it will make it much easier to identify what help the employee may need. Using an example such as sports we could compare the process to the movements a basketball player makes during a layup, i.e., ball handling, angle of the approach, speed of the approach, timing of the actual shot, etc.
Therefore if we are trying to produce a widget like we talked about above it is crucial that we determine each step necessary that is required to accomplish making a great widget. The most effective way to accomplish this is to time and count every necessary step that is required in order to make an acceptable widget. The next important process is to record every step that must be performed so that you can then evaluate the employee performing them for you.
Now that you are able to determine what the problem is it is the time to formally produce an employee performance improvement plan so that you can hold the employee accountable. The performance plan should list the necessary steps, such as training, that you have determined will bring the employee up to standard. The plan should also have agreed upon time tables, provided they are reasonable, that the employee will have to meet. Those time tables should include several check points along the way to insure progress is being made.
Like all things in business it is very important that you document every aspect of the progress an employee is making within your performance improvement plan. Although it is never our intention, there are times when an employee will not be able to meet the minimum standard we have established and therefore we will be forced to terminate them. In the unlikely event an employee files a law suit against you for wrongful discharge your performance improvement plan and the documentation within it will be extremely valuable.
About the Author:
Greg has provided information on how to develop an improvement plan on his website, Good Leadership Skills for Life. Greg has also provided many free improvement plan examples.
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