Comments on: What to Do When Your Employee Fails to Perform and Continually Complains

By: Jen

Jen — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 11:58:43 +0000

In reply to Julinda.

I also agree, I was in a similar position as the employee who had several leave and was given way more than a typical person in my role would have. On top of this, there was also a manager transition and hired from the outside of the company, really didn’t understand what all went into accomplishing the tasks at hand and the challenges that were occurring to slow the pace down on timelines, nor were they interested. Little to no feedback was provided, even when asked as a way to self-improve other than “you’re too stressed out”. At the end of that year, I was blindsided with the worst review of my working career but no one on one meetings or cancelled meetings, no trying to understand the why’s or trying to agree on solutions.

It does at least sound like the manager asking the original question has done more than what I experienced, even if the true root of the problem hasn’t been discovered/solved.

I can see both sides of the concern from the employee and the manager.

By: Kimberly Ray

Kimberly Ray — Sat, 25 Sep 2021 04:17:00 +0000

In reply to A. Balthrop.

I agree. I was struck by “she gives 120% when 80% would be sufficient” but doesn’t take ownership. Those two things don’t add for me. Is the employee overextending on the wrong things? Does the manager not understand what the employee is doing? And really, I don’t think I’ve told anyone to give just 80% effort – that will be just fine. While I like the thoughts put here for an answer, I think this odd phrasing missed something on the manager herself.

By: Paula

Paula — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:37:13 +0000

In reply to Catherine Waiyaki. Absolutely! Asking the individual for their [own] solution to the problem allows them to "think outside the box", which will ultimately empower them to see their situation as an opportunity rather than an obstacle. That is empowerment!

By: Julinda

Julinda — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:08:42 +0000

In reply to S Schulze. I agree. The manager needs to look into the situation more fully and try to figure out (with the individual in question) what the real issues are. Most employees want to do well and if they feel stuck or if they are "drowning," there is a reason for it. The response in the article is rooted in "managers know what's best and employees are just to do as they are told."

By: Julinda

Julinda — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 14:04:34 +0000

In reply to A. Balthrop. A. Balthrop - I agree. Often managers assign work with little understanding of what it involves. I think this article totally skips important parts of the Crucial Conversation process and jumps to conclusions.

By: Diane

Diane — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 11:32:56 +0000

I agree the response was superficial and unhelpful it is as likely as not that this problem is a management problem problem as an employee problem. The assumption that this situation can be described as “What to Do When Your Employee Fails to Perform and Continually Complains” is the problem. It could be better described as “How can I help an employee to understand that in their role perfection is not required and that getting everything done in a good enough manner is preferable to getting stressed out in an effort to make every project perfect”

By: James Brown

James Brown — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 18:03:24 +0000

I think this is very good advice if the problem is what the manager says it is. However, sometimes we need to ask ourselves if we’re correctly analyzing the problem. In this case the manager shares a “point of view” of time required, says that the employee “seems unwilling”, and “has the impression” of the employees comfort level. These ambiguous words feel like the manager is telling a story about the problem (the employee’s attitude). This story may be correct, but the manager’s first role is to take a step back and determine the root cause so that the correct issue is being addressed. If it is indeed an attitude then Justin brings up good points. If the employee is truly overworked there are other steps to be taken.

By: S Schulze

S Schulze — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 16:27:15 +0000

I feel the response for this situation is incomplete. It left me with if the individual doesn’t take responsibility, then they are out. The individual likely feels responsibility for her personal work or she wouldn’t be putting in the overtime. What if she she’s struggling with other’s actions/inaction? What if she’s struggling with infrastructure/tools? When manager’s start using “victim” terminology, they may also shut out important information about individual training or team behavior that is impacting the individual’s performance. Although the manager has taken steps to help improve the individual’s performance, it does not appear that the manager has evaluated the team’s interactions with the individual as a whole on how they may be impeding the individual’s performance. Once have more info on the big picture, appropriate feedback can be provided to improve both individual and team performance, and together, with shared responsibility for improvement, determine next steps.

By: Catherine Waiyaki

Catherine Waiyaki — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 14:48:00 +0000

I agree. One thing that almost always works for me is to ask them for their solution to the problem, what they will do about it.

By: Dale

Dale — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 14:23:55 +0000

Justin,
You missed having the writer check their assumptions about how long the work should take. Are they right about 80%, or is 120% of time excellent. A 4 minute mile is very good, but one can give you a 3 minute mile.