If you answered “no” to any of these questions, you
should move the employee to another job where the issues aren’t going to
affect their competency or transition them out of the company.
Is the Employee Willing?
The next level up that is also a make or break issue – is the
employee willing to do the work available? Does the employee seem happy
to be at work? Does he or she genuinely care about the welfare of
customers, co-worker, and the company in general? Does the employee get
to work well-rested and prepared so that he or she is able to be fully
present and concentrate? Does the employee gracefully take on assigned
tasks? Does the employee arrive at meetings on time and prepared? Is the
employee open to dialogue and answering questions related to his or her
work?
If you answered “no” to any of these questions, there may be some
resentments that have built up meaning that the employee can do the job,
but isn’t willing to give 100%. This employee needs to have the
opportunity to vent frustrations, get clear instructions on what is
expected, and then have the opportunity to recommit to the work of the
company. If the employee remains unwilling and hinders the work of
others with a poor attitude, the employee should be transitioned out of
the company.
Is the Employee Engaged?
This is the highest level of employee involvement and commitment.
These are employees who are engaged in the work of the company take
initiative. They are problem-solvers and actively work out work
problems, including inter-personal problems. They actively seek feedback
about their performance. These employees are natural leaders and will
lead in a project whether or not they have a management title – other
just seem to follow them because of their willingness to take risks or
because of their demonstrated expertise. They also look outside the
company for sources of good ideas and are always setting goals to take
their own work to the next level. They like to learn and will look for
opportunities to take on new tasks to learn new skills. These employees
give 100% because they are motivated to do so internally.
It is only if a company gets in the way of superior performance that
these employees will stop working at the highest level. If they become
frustrated that management does not support their efforts to raise the
performance bar in the company, they will disengage and eventually
leave.
Final Comment
Employees who are not able to do the job shouldn’t be offered
continued employment. If you can create open communications with
employees who seem unwilling, you can often turn around their
performance. Your best point of leverage is taking employees who are
willing and helping them become employees who are engaged. The best way
to do that is to have plenty of engaged employees around. Their work
behavior can be infectious. And get out of the way of the engaged
employees. They want room to run and will only leave if micromanaged or
not allowed room to experiment with new ideas. Follow these few simple
ideas and you will be in AWE of the contributions made by your employees
to the prosperity of your business.
