Managing low-performing employees is one of the most crucial leadership tasks. If an underperforming employee goes unchecked, it influences team morale, productivity and overall business success. Managers must stay on top of underperforming employees to effectively handle underperformance and ensure everyone is pulling their weight. In this blog, we will provide you with the tools to identify underperformance and the strategies to manage them.
How to Identify Low-Performing Employees
Seeing signs of underperformance early can help it from becoming a full-blown problem that can affect the whole team and organisation. Here are what to keep an eye out for:
Signs of Underperformance
If an employee is consistently missing deadlines or targets it is a clear sign the quality of work is lacking. This can show up in other ways such as low engagement with tasks or a lack of initiative. Similarly, suppose others are reporting they are difficult to work with or communicate across. In that case, this is an important sign that they may not perform to the best of their ability. Lastly, if managers notice a decline in overall work quality, this is another telltale sign.
Causes of Underperformance
There are serval reasons for underperformance which if addressed early can significantly help the outcome. For example, the employee may lack skills or training in their role and need further support. Personal issues such as health or family challenges are another reason employees could be losing momentum at work.

Strategies for Managing Low-Performing Employees
It can be difficult to know where to start when dealing with underperformance. Here are our top suggestions:
1. Have a Private, Honest Conversation
It is important to not embarrass or make employees feel that they cannot confide in their managers. We suggest maintaining a non-confrontational tone to encourage open communication and highly specific examples of underperformance. This is also a time managers can use to address the underlying cause, whether it is personal issues or a lack of support internally.
2. Clarify Expectations
In the conversation, managers should take the time to reiterate job responsibilities and performance expectations. Taking it one step further, the expectations should be broken down into measurable terms and documented so both parties are across what has been discussed.
3. Provide the Necessary Training & Resources
If the issue comes from a lack of knowledge or support, managers should offer the necessary training and resources for the employee to improve.
4. Develop a Personal Development Plan (PDP)
A great way to performance management is through a personal development plan. A PDP is a structured plan with clear goals, timelines, and check-ins to help the employee improve.
How to Implement a PDP:
- Set specific, achievable goals.
- Schedule regular follow-up meetings to review progress.
- Document progress and feedback.
- Suggest how long should a PDP last.
5. Offer Continuous Feedback
Having regular check-ins and providing continuous feedback will help underperforming employees feel supported and take accountability for their work. This ensures that underperforming employees can also set smaller goals for themselves and improve their quality of work.
6. Motivate and Recognise Improvement
If managers can see a change in effort and performance, it is important to recognise improvements and encourage employees. This makes them feel valued and hard work recognised.

How to Turn Around Performance
Recognising underperformance is one side of the problem, the other side is improving it. Here are our top suggestions for turning a low-performing employee into a high-performing one:
Reignite Motivation
Once managers have determined the reason for underperformance, they can work towards what drives the employee and connect tasks to their interests or long-term goals.
Build Trust and Support
Building trust and support with employees by showing genuine care can go a long way. Creating a collaborative and positive space can help employees feel supported in their efforts to improve.
Provide Coaching & Mentoring
Pairing the employees with a senior team member or creating a buddy system can provide added guidance and support for the underperforming employee.
Evaluate Team Dynamics
Sometimes poor performance results from team issues rather than individual shortcomings. Sitting in on team meetings and addressing where needs improvement can help.

When to Consider Termination
When Improvement is Not Achieved
Although there is a lot that can be done to improve underperformance, it is important to set clear deadlines and expectations for improvement. Sometimes the role is not suited and employees have mentally tapped out. As a last resort, termination may be necessary.
Steps for a Fair Termination Process
It is important managers have documented the entire process to ensure a fair termination process, from initial conversations to the PDP, training initiatives and incident reports.
Protecting Team Morale
Having an underperforming team member can greatly affect team morale. Providing transparent communication about the decision whilst maintaining confidentiality helps reassure the team and maintain a positive and supportive work environment.

How to Prevent Future Underperformance
1. Set Clear Expectations from Day One
Fine-tuning the onboarding process can greatly help performance management. This ensures clear expectations are set from the beginning and employees feel supported.
2. Provide Ongoing Training and Development
Investing in your employees’ personal development can encourage employees to work towards personal goals.
3. Build a Feedback Culture
Encouraging managers and employees to provide each other with constructive feedback on how to improve can also help.
4. Ensure Fair Workloads
There are times when underperformance is overloaded with work beyond an employee’s skills. In this case, it is important to ensure fair workloads. SImialry, if there is an underperforming employee, other employees may have to pick up the workload which can reduce team morale.
5. Foster a Positive Work Environment
Ensuring organisations have a positive work environment where everyone is working towards the same goal and is supportive can help manage underperformance as everyone feels a part of the team. Having activities outside of work or team-building sessions can support this.

Conclusion
Dealing with underperformance can be a touchy subject, but proactively addressing the issue early on can help solve the problem. Creating an environment where employees feel both supported and held accountable for their work fosters a positive and hard-working environment.
At E.L Blue, we have over two decades of experience in outsourcing HR services. From workplace training sessions to performance management, we can support your organisation in building a stronger more productive team. Reach out today.