Post by Amanda Kogut-Rosenau on Feb 24, 2016 21:38:06 GMT
• What assumptions are present in this scenario?
The following assumptions are made by the employer:
1. The new employee will adhere to all the job requirements
2. The new employee will not have any personal issues that may impact his work
3. The new employee is very enthusiastic about this opportunity and will perform well
4. The new employee is capable of managing all the responsibility associated with the position
5. The new employee understands there will be consequences for poor performance or inappropriate use of resources
The following assumptions were made by the employee:
1. The customer service is less important than whether or not the work was performed.
2. Any inappropriate actions were justified and the result of circumstances beyond his control.
3. The employer should understand his personal issues and make accommodations for him to support his family.
At the end of the video we assume the employee’s job is in jeopardy.
• How would you respond?
Because Steve has clearly not adhered to any of the requirements presented to him upon hire, I would move forward with the performance review process.
• What would you do?
Prior to our meeting, I would reflect on what the real issue—Steve’s performance, what’s impacting it and if there were any strategies to accommodate what could be considered legitimate issues.
I would prepare a number of options I could provide to Steve to address these:
1. Allowing him to call into Monday meetings if he did have an issue with a sick child
2. Allowing flex time on Wednesday to accommodate an early school dismissal (he could do an early start that day or stay late/start early if the schedule allowed it)
3. To avoid pressure from family for transportation Steve would only be allowed use of the truck during the work week and would have to drop it off on Friday and pick it up on Monday.
4. Steve would be provided with the opportunity to pay back inappropriate charges on the gas card, either through direct payment or garnished wages
During the review process, I would take steps to eliminate the noise during our meeting. In this case, the noise is they myriad of personal issues that Steve sites as reasons for poor performance. I would do this by presenting a list of the job requirements and clear examples of instances where Steve did not meet these requirements. I would then clearly state the consequences associated with this—i.e. reduction in hours, termination, repayment of misspent funds.
I’d then present Steve with a performance plan to address timeliness, customer service, the appropriate use of materials and equipment and resources.
I would encourage Steve to put forward solutions to his problems and have him review his resources before putting my options forward. For instance, does he have a neighbor, friend or family member that could help with childcare in a pinch, is there an afterschool program available in his community that he could send his daughter to?
If Steve was w/out options, I’d then put forward some of the possible solutions I’d thought of.
I’d be clear w/Steve that I am open to being flexible if it results in sustained improved performance. I’d review the expectations, the methods we’d use to monitor performance, set a meeting schedule to review it, and the consequences for not meeting expectations.
• What questions did you ask yourself in coming to your conclusion?
1. What’s the real problem or issue?
2. What is a distraction from the problem or issue?
3. How can I address identified problem?
4. As far as the distractions, what are they, who are they distracting and how?
5. Is there anything I can do as an employer to make it easier for Steve to improve his performance?
6. What can I do to insure that Steve understands expectations, the actions we will take to monitor his performance and the consequences for poor performance?
The following assumptions are made by the employer:
1. The new employee will adhere to all the job requirements
2. The new employee will not have any personal issues that may impact his work
3. The new employee is very enthusiastic about this opportunity and will perform well
4. The new employee is capable of managing all the responsibility associated with the position
5. The new employee understands there will be consequences for poor performance or inappropriate use of resources
The following assumptions were made by the employee:
1. The customer service is less important than whether or not the work was performed.
2. Any inappropriate actions were justified and the result of circumstances beyond his control.
3. The employer should understand his personal issues and make accommodations for him to support his family.
At the end of the video we assume the employee’s job is in jeopardy.
• How would you respond?
Because Steve has clearly not adhered to any of the requirements presented to him upon hire, I would move forward with the performance review process.
• What would you do?
Prior to our meeting, I would reflect on what the real issue—Steve’s performance, what’s impacting it and if there were any strategies to accommodate what could be considered legitimate issues.
I would prepare a number of options I could provide to Steve to address these:
1. Allowing him to call into Monday meetings if he did have an issue with a sick child
2. Allowing flex time on Wednesday to accommodate an early school dismissal (he could do an early start that day or stay late/start early if the schedule allowed it)
3. To avoid pressure from family for transportation Steve would only be allowed use of the truck during the work week and would have to drop it off on Friday and pick it up on Monday.
4. Steve would be provided with the opportunity to pay back inappropriate charges on the gas card, either through direct payment or garnished wages
During the review process, I would take steps to eliminate the noise during our meeting. In this case, the noise is they myriad of personal issues that Steve sites as reasons for poor performance. I would do this by presenting a list of the job requirements and clear examples of instances where Steve did not meet these requirements. I would then clearly state the consequences associated with this—i.e. reduction in hours, termination, repayment of misspent funds.
I’d then present Steve with a performance plan to address timeliness, customer service, the appropriate use of materials and equipment and resources.
I would encourage Steve to put forward solutions to his problems and have him review his resources before putting my options forward. For instance, does he have a neighbor, friend or family member that could help with childcare in a pinch, is there an afterschool program available in his community that he could send his daughter to?
If Steve was w/out options, I’d then put forward some of the possible solutions I’d thought of.
I’d be clear w/Steve that I am open to being flexible if it results in sustained improved performance. I’d review the expectations, the methods we’d use to monitor performance, set a meeting schedule to review it, and the consequences for not meeting expectations.
• What questions did you ask yourself in coming to your conclusion?
1. What’s the real problem or issue?
2. What is a distraction from the problem or issue?
3. How can I address identified problem?
4. As far as the distractions, what are they, who are they distracting and how?
5. Is there anything I can do as an employer to make it easier for Steve to improve his performance?
6. What can I do to insure that Steve understands expectations, the actions we will take to monitor his performance and the consequences for poor performance?
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