Underperforming employees can be disastrous for your company. They can lead to decreased productivity, increased costs, and missed deadlines.

When employees are not performing well, customer satisfaction may also be affected. Unhappy customers may switch to another brand, hurting your profits.

Furthermore, when the underperforming employee’s coworkers see that their colleague is not pulling their full weight, it could lead to decreased morale in the workplace. Nobody wants to feel like they’re giving it their all, while someone else is getting the same pay for a halfhearted effort.

That’s why it’s critical to identify underperformance in the workplace and address it as soon as possible.

Read on to learn how to identify underperformance and address it.

Quick Summary

First, identify the signs of underperformance:

• Poor work quality
• Tardiness
• Missing meetings and deadlines
• Poor communication
• Clear lack of skills

Once you have determined that an employee is underperforming, try to identify the root cause of the issue, which can include:

• Burnout or excessive stress
• Personal issues
• Lack of motivation or interest
• A poor hiring decision
• Lack of qualifications

Finally, it’s time to address the issue. Some of the best ways to address underperformance in the workplace include:

• Putting the employee on a performance plan
• Setting clear goals and KPIs
• Providing additional training
• Giving a warning
• Firing as a last resort

First Steps: Identifying Underperformance

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It’s important to watch out for the early signs of underperformance. Letting this problem fester for too long will cost you a lot more than if you were to catch it early and address it promptly.

Shoddy Work Quality

One of the most obvious red flags to watch out for is poor work quality. An underperforming employee will do the bare minimum to get by.

Such a person might meet deadlines, but their submitted work just won’t be up to par.

If clients are constantly complaining about the quality of the work, look at who produced that work. Search for patterns – are clients constantly complaining about the production of a specific employee?

Poor work quality could also include consistent errors. Occasional errors are normal and to be expected; we’re all human.

However, if errors are frequent and feedback is not being addressed and taken into account for future work, it’s time to start worrying.

Missing Deadlines

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Another red flag is consistently missing deadlines. Again, nobody is perfect, but if deadlines are being missed right and left, it will affect your overall production and is therefore not acceptable.

Furthermore, if a deadline is missed, the employee should provide a valid reason for why they missed it.

Not Meeting Quotas

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Depending on the nature of the job, your employee might be required to fulfill certain quotas, such as onboarding a certain number of clients or making a certain number of sales.

Again, missing a quota here and there isn’t necessarily a sign of underperformance. However, consistently missing quotas usually means that the employee isn’t able to keep up with the demands of the job or isn’t interested in putting in the work.

Tardiness

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An employee who consistently shows up late to work or doesn’t attend meetings will lead to slowdowns in production.

This applies even, and perhaps especially, to remote workers. An employee who is given the option to work from home needs to possess the discipline and motivation to attend all virtual meetings and clock in on time.

Working from home should not be used as an excuse to skip meetings or clock in late.

Poor Communication

Finally, another red flag is poor communication. That can include:

• Not responding to emails on time
• Not answering calls or returning missed calls
• Not being active in group chats and discussions
• Not communicating with colleagues about projects and deadlines

Identifying the Causes of Underperformance

Before you can create an action plan to address the employee’s underperformance, it’s critical to identify the root cause of why this employee has been lacking. Here are some of the most common factors that lead to underperformance in the workplace.

Lack of Skills

A lack of skills and talent could be the reason for underperformance. Perhaps the employee in question just isn’t suitable for the job; the hiring team might have missed that somehow.

If the employee wasn’t vetted properly, or if they were hired due to nepotism, they might not be capable of handling the job’s responsibilities. This could lead to poor performance, errors, and customer dissatisfaction.

Even the most motivated employee will produce poor results if they are not properly trained or don’t possess the qualifications for the role.

Lack of Motivation or Interest

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On the other side of the coin, someone might possess the skills and qualifications for the job but lack the interest and motivation to give it their best.

The difference will be evident from the type of poor performance you get from the employee.

If the employee always meets deadlines, is never late, and takes initiative to ask questions and collaborate with colleagues with enthusiasm but still produces shoddy work, they probably lack the proper skills.

On the other hand, if you see tardiness, missed deadlines, and poor communication, the problem may lie in a lack of motivation and commitment.

Of course, it’s possible for an employee to lack both the skills and enthusiasm for the job. This can happen if poor candidates fall through the cracks or get hired or promoted due to nepotism.

Lack of Clear Instructions

Poor performance isn’t always entirely the fault of the employee. Contributing factors may include lack of guidance and clear instructions from higher-ups.

This may not be your fault. The person who is supposed to guide new hires and help them learn the ropes may be slacking, and that is something you might want to look into.

Burnout

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One possible factor not usually considered by most supervisors is burnout. If an employee has been giving the job their all and suddenly seems to be underperforming, they may be suffering from burnout.

Burnout can occur to anyone, but it is especially common when people do too much. If an employee is working overtime every day, for example, burnout is likely.

In addition, if an employee has two jobs or is studying part-time while working, burnout is likely to occur.

Personal Issues

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Finally, underperformance can result due to personal issues in the employee’s life. Factors can include:

• Financial issues
• Relationship issues
• A sick friend or relative

These and other factors can lead to excessive stress, which could result in temporarily decreased performance.

If the underperformance seems to be coming out of nowhere, personal issues may very well be a factor.

Addressing Underperformance

Once you have identified the reasons for the underperformance, it’s time to create an action plan to address it. Often, if you catch it early and take some steps to resolve the issue, it can be solved.

Here are some tips for addressing underperformance in the workplace.

Early Intervention

Early intervention is absolutely critical, and that’s why it’s important to always be on the lookout for underperformance. You need to be up-to-date on what your employees are doing so you can spot the red flags listed above.

If you don’t address the problem early enough, it will be harder to fix. Bad habits are not easy to change, especially if they are allowed to continue for a long time.

Give Clear Warnings

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Communication is key, and that includes giving warnings when necessary. You can’t allow your employees to get away with underperforming; they need to know that you won’t allow it to continue.

A warning is appropriate if you have determined the employee is underperforming due to laziness or a lack of interest. Perhaps they started to feel too comfortable with their position, and a warning will let them know that they won’t be able to continue in their role if they keep it up.

Setting Clear Goals and KPIs

The next step is setting clear goals and KPIs. Whether or not a lack of clear goals led to the underperformance, setting clear goals will give the employee something to aim for.

It will help stay them on track. If they know exactly what they need to do, and if they’ve already received a warning about their substandard behavior, they will be motivated to up their game and reach those goals.

Creating a Performance Plan

A performance plan is a great way to help a struggling employee without punishing them. It’s not meant to be punitive action but rather assist the employee with improving their weak points.

When creating a performance plan, you need to set clear goals and action steps. That’s not enough, though; you need continuous progress reports and meetings to stay up to date on the employee’s progress.

Although a performance plan is not meant to be punitive, it is still important to make the employee aware of potential consequences if the plan is not adhered to.

It’s not just about the negative consequences, though. You can provide incentives for good performance, such as a bonus at the end of the year.

Additional Training and Mentoring

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Sometimes, additional training and mentoring can help turn things around and transform a subpar employee into one of your best.

This is usually applicable when the employee doesn’t lack motivation or commitment but rather skills that are necessary for the job.

Investing in your employees is worth it. Let me repeat that for all of you in the back: It’s not only okay to invest in your employees, but the returns will be worth it.

Paying for extra training for your employees will come back to you in the long run. Whether it’s an Udemy course, a workshop, or assistance studying for certifications or even college degrees, helping your employees learn and grow can never hurt you.

In the specific case of an underperforming employee, it’s important to identify which skills they are lacking. That way, you can find a training course or educational resource that can help.

Don’t forget the power of mentorship, of course.

A senior employee shouldn’t need someone to hold their hand. However, a junior employee might struggle to find their way without a mentor to guide them.

Mentorship has many positive impacts for employees and can help an underperforming employee clean up their game and get back on track.

Open and Honest Communication

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It’s critical to maintain open and honest communication with all your employees. This shouldn’t start when you notice an employee struggling.

If employees feel like they can be open with you about their issues without being judged, reprimanded, or punished, they will open up to you about problems they are facing.

That can help you avoid underperformance issues in the first place.

If an employee doesn’t understand how to do something, they should know that it is okay to ask higher ups for help. Nobody knows everything, and asking for advice shouldn’t be a cause for concern.

If they don’t feel like they can ask for help without judgment, though, they may instead submit poor-quality work.

If you haven’t been encouraging open communication, and you notice employees underperforming, today is the day to start. An open and supportive atmosphere will do wonders for your employees’ productivity.

Part of maintaining open communication is providing both positive feedback and constructive criticism.

Firing as a Last Resort

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Firing an employee who is underperforming should never be the first step. Usually, regardless of the cause, things can be turned around with the right strategy.

Remember, laying off an employee could lead to increased costs for your business.

Firstly, you will deal with lower productivity while your team is smaller. Furthermore, hiring a new employee is a process that requires time and resources.

Besides, you can never know if you will be able to find a better replacement in a short amount of time. The pressure to replace this employee can lead to poor hiring decisions.

It’s always better to invest in current employees than to hire new ones.

So, if you can, try to turn things around. Create a performance plan, give warnings, provide additional training, and stay on top of your employee to monitor their progress.

However, if things still don’t approve beyond the time length of the performance plan, it is okay to fire them. Some people just can’t improve, and if you have given them a chance but they didn’t take the opportunity, it might be time to let them go.

One of the top things that scare human resources is facing a wrongful termination lawsuit. However, you can avoid that by collecting evidence of the poor performance of the employee in question.

That way, you can prove that you had a good reason for firing them. You could also prove that the employee violated their terms of the contract by not meeting their job requirements.

Conclusion

Dealing with underperforming employees can seem like a headache, but it’s to be expected in any large workplace.

Whether an employee is dealing with undisclosed personal issues or struggling with new job responsibilities, it’s your job as a manager to stay on top of what is going on and provide them with the support and feedback they need.

Usually, by putting an action plan in place, you can turn the situation around and transform underperforming employees into high achievers.

Tom Clayton

Tom loves to write on technology, e-commerce & internet marketing. I started my first e-commerce company in college, designing and selling t-shirts for my campus bar crawl using print-on-demand. Having successfully established multiple 6 & 7-figure e-commerce businesses (in women’s fashion and hiking gear), I think I can share a tip or 2 to help you succeed.