confronting underperformers

CONFRONTING UNDERPERFORMERS © Southwestern Consulting - Do Not Redistribute

MANAGER’S EDGEA Southwestern Consulting ME Module

CONFRONTING UNDERPERFORMERS / OPTION 2

CONFRONTINGUNDERPERFORMERS

1CONFRONTING UNDERPERFORMERS © Southwestern Consulting - Do Not Redistribute

DISCUSSION

QUESTIONS

• How do you confront underperformers?

• Who on your team needs to be confronted?

• What are the consequences for underperformance?

• Do you have a plan to get people back on track?

• Do you get scared when it comes to confronting underperformance?

PRINCIPLES

• Be hard on the problem, easy on the person.

• Be specific and timely.

• Criticize in private, not in public.

• Confront the person as close to the action as possible.

• Inspect what you expect.

• Create a culture where people self-eject.

• Enforce consistent consequences.

• Use a carrot and a stick.


HOW TO KNOW WHEN TO CONFRONT SOMEONE

As a leader, there are times and places where you need to show tough love. It is your job to be honest and real with your team. There will be times when it would be easier to step back and let a team member keep making mistakes, but that would be doing them a huge disservice. You need to be the one to have the difficult conversations.

3 STEPS TO HELP DETERMINE TIMING The following steps will help you determine when it might be time to confront your underperformers.

STEP 1

TIMINGYou need to consider your team member’s life situation. Big events can happen, such as a major illness, health issues, pregnancy, or complications with family. This is a time to let your team member know you’re there to support them, but this isn’t a time to push or challenge someone.

An appropriate time to confront someone would be when your team member is avoiding an issue or has completely lost momentum, but doesn’t have any major life events happening.

STEP 2

INDICATORS OF UNDERPERFORMANCEThere are certain indicators that will give you an idea as to whether it is a good time to confront someone. Some examples include:

• No activity• Not tracking their activity• Working hard with little results• Big decisions that aren’t aligned with their goals


HOW TO KNOW WHEN TO CONFRONT SOMEONE continued

STEP 3

AWARENESS OF PERSONAL GOALSAs the leader, you should be aware of and invested in your team members’ personal goals and visions. These are what will drive them to succeed, and you should know what your team member’s goal and vision are before you confront them so that you can use the correct language and let them know you’re coming from a place of concern and respect for your underperformer.

Taking the time to confront your underperformers with these indicators in mind will allow you to best connect with them. They will be able to see that you care about more than their results. Every team member will experience peaks and valleys during their career. Helping your team members get through those valleys will help your business grow even faster.


HOW TO GIVE FEEDBACK

In the book Navigate 2.0, Dustin Hillis and Steven Reiner write about the four different buying-behavior styles and how, psychologically, buyers make decisions based on their fears.

• The Fighter’s biggest fear is losing control.• The Detective’s biggest fear is making a mistake.• The Counselor’s biggest fear is change.• The Entertainer’s biggest fear is rejection.

One fear that affects all four behavior styles equally is the fear of feedback. No one naturally likes feedback. It cuts to the core of who we are. It offends our egos. After all, how dare someone tell you what you need to work on when they have so many obvious faults of their own?

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF FEEDBACK.

1. Destructive Feedback Destructive feedback is counterproductive. People often use it to make themselves feel more important than someone else. Destructive feedback comes in several forms. Someone may highlight an obvious weakness of another person to make that person feel inferior. It is best to cut out anyone in your life who consistently is giving you destructive feedback.

2. Constructive Feedback Constructive feedback is what people use to help others to improve. Great leaders know how to give constructive feedback. The best leaders in the world are also open to receiving constructive feedback, internalizing it, and changing based on that feedback. Giving constructive feedback is one of the best services you can provide your team members. If you know that one of your salespeople is doing something that is damaging to their reputation, business, relationships, or life and you don’t share your constructive feedback with them, you are not living up to your responsibility of being a great leader.


THE NEW FEEDBACK FORMULA

As a manager, sometimes you have to give negative feedback. It’s your job to hold your team accountable, not only for tracking their activity but also for hitting their personal goals. Having those tough conversations means that you care about the people you are leading and that they are necessary in order to lead well.

THE “REPRIMAND SANDWICH” TECHNIQUEThe “Reprimand Sandwich” was a technique originally introduced by Ken Blanchard in his book, The One-Minute Manager and made popular in the 1980s. It’s a simple and memorable formula for giving negative feedback:

STEP 1

ASSUREAssure the person that you care about them and the relationship.

STEP 2

DISCUSS ACTIONPoint out, in specific terms, exactly what action the person took that missed the mark.

STEP 3

AFFIRMRemind them that you value them and you are confident in their abilities.

While it is a formula that does work when executed correctly, the challenge is that oftentimes it comes across as mechanical, trite, or disingenuous. To the person receiving the feedback, it often sounds more like:

1. “You’re really smart.”2. “You can’t do anything right.”3. “But your shoes are cute.”


THE NEW FEEDBACK FORMULA continued

Instead of thinking about it as a sandwich, think about these conversations as more of a balance of respect, love, and accountability.

Before you give your team member feedback, give them a heads-up as to what your conversation will be about. This will also help them not to feel blindsided when you begin with compliments and then transition into constructive feedback.

If you are in a place where you are having trouble thinking of ways to compliment your team member, make a list of ten positive characteristics about that person before you meet with them. It’s easy to get caught up in everything our people are doing wrong, and in this case it is important to focus on the positive. This exercise will help humanize your team member and remind you of the value that they bring to your team.

Your team members need to know that you are providing accountability because you care about and respect them. You can provide any level of accountability as long as you provide a stronger level of love in the process. So, if you are struggling with delivering feedback that is effective and creates change in other people’s lives, then chances are you don’t need another formula. You need to feel more confident in providing love, respect, and support.


HOW TO RECEIVE FEEDBACK

If you are in a situation where you are giving a team member constructive feedback, it is also probably a good time to ask for feedback from that team member. Here are two tips about receiving constructive feedback.

1. Don’t Be Defensive! Always assume the person giving you the constructive feedback has your best interest in mind and is taking the time to give you constructive feedback because they care about you.

It is so frustrating to work with or have a conversation with someone who is a know-it-all. Life is all about learning. If you are not learning, you are not growing. The know-it-all people of the world will not reach their potential because they shut people off from giving them feedback. Without feedback, you won’t be able to change for the better. Being defensive shuts out the opportunity for growth.

2. Listen. It is so hard for people to hear someone else criticize them that they have natural defense mechanisms that kick in to defend their egos. People will interrupt, argue, justify, and deny the feedback. Listening is a skill. Think of the last time someone took the time to give you constructive feedback in any area of your life. How did you react?

After someone takes the time to give you constructive feedback, try responding with, “Let me make sure I’m hearing you right.” Repeat back to them the feedback they gave you and then say, “Is there anything else that I’m missing?” If they say, “No,” you reply with, “Tell me more. Where did this come from? Can you give me a specific example of when I did this?” Then write down the feedback and commit to working on it. If you did make a mistake, own it, and apologize if necessary.

When you seek to understand before being understood, you will reach the next level of being an effective communicator and leader.


THE 10-MINUTE ULTIMATUM continued

This method is for someone who is not meeting the minimum performance expectations and who you’ve probably already talked to about working hard, but they’re clearly still off-track. If you have a manager, consult with them before having this conversation. The intention is that you come to the underperformer not to condemn, attack, or accuse but because you’re looking out for them. The purpose of this meeting is to lay out guidelines for whether they’ll stay with the company or be asked to leave.

1. Begin by letting them know you want to help and see them succeed. Then help them evaluate their effort.

• “I’ve realized that we need to get on the same page. I’ve noticed that you have been struggling lately, and I want to help you have the kind of success you came here to have.”

• “On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, how would you rate your effort this past week (or past three weeks, etc.)? Why?”

Their answer may be something surface-level such as, “I need to get my activity up,” because they think that’s what you want to hear. Walk them through identifying where they can improve.

• “If you were to get your effort up to a 10—because as you know all you can really control is your effort—what would that look like? How would it be different from what you’re doing now? What can you do to influence your calls and appointments?”

• For some people, it really just starts with seeing more people every day. Coach them on seeing more people—working all day—one goal period at a time. One way to explain this to your team member could be:

“So, I’m sure you’ve had the experience where you’re reading something and you just keep reading the same line over and over again without making any real progress. Same with this job. You can go out there and be unfocused all day. You know what that feels like, but I’m sure you’ve also had some days where you just laid it all on the line all day, right? So you know what it feels like to bust your tail, too!”


THE 10-MINUTE ULTIMATUM

2. Explain that there are two categories a person can fall into at this point in their career.

• Working really hard. They have hope even if they’re not very good technically yet because they’re on-track and they know it’s going to get better.

• Not working hard. They’re off-track and in despair. This is someone who won’t find it getting any better because they do not have motivation or momentum.

You could explain this concept with an analogy such as:

“If you just started playing the guitar and you practiced 13 hours per day, how much better would you be after only one week of that effort? But, if you skip a few days between practicing, would you learn as much?”

3. If they are committed to staying with your team, remind them what it takes to be successful.

• “I know you’re committed to sticking it out with this job. I think you would stay out here—even if you were going in the hole financially—just because you said you would stay. My responsibility as your manager is to counsel you for your benefit. If at the end of this week you have worked hard every day, all day, I can promise you that the effort will show up in the form of results. At this point, we’ve given you all the technical training we can to help you, but we can’t make the calls for you.”

• “It’s up to you to let the numbers work for you and then we can give you more training when you reach the next level, but the work must come first. Let’s give it this week to work your hardest. If you don’t, then we may need to encourage you to do something else that’s a better fit for you. This job just requires a very self-directed kind of person. There’s nobody calling you at 8:30 to say, ‘Hey, you’re late for work!’ What are your thoughts?”

Listen to them. They should have a stronger desire to work hard after this conversation.


THE 10-MINUTE ULTIMATUM

4. End with a final, motivating push.

• “Don’t worry about the customers and revenue—but just on doing the work and focusing on your numbers. We can expect that if you just do the work this week, you’ll have the results of at least X number of (fill in appropriate activity). Anything less than that would show that there probably hasn’t been growth. We want you to succeed. It’s just up to you now.”


5 COMBATANTS TO COMPLACENCY

It’s one thing to confront underperformers who are new in the business or who are just off-track. However, many managers occasionally have to deal with an experienced person who is underperforming because they’re already making a lot of money and have become complacent.

Complacency stands in the way of success. Not because you always need to be achieving more and having more to be happy, but because constantly striving to better yourself and grow is success in and of itself.

Here are five combatants to complacency that you can share with your team member to help fuel their motivation and take them to the next level.

1. Reduce your risk. Once you’ve acquired a lot, you have a lot to lose. Rather than sitting back, you can start working on a plan to lessen the likelihood that what you have will disappear. This can be done by developing new leaders in your organization, paying off all debt on your real estate, or investing in research to prepare for what is coming in your industry.

2. Raise your expectation level. If you feel like you’re at the top of some category, it can often be hard to keep pushing. Find ways to spend time with a new peer group who is at a level that is beyond you. They are definitely out there, and if you can find them and surround yourself with them, it will reignite your hustle.

3. Create new challenges. Start by asking yourself: “What is the biggest possible thing I can think of accomplishing in my life? What is my wildest dream? What is the most over-the-top thing I have never previously thought possible?” Think about that and then go to work on it. You are a different person today than you’ve ever been before, which means you’re capable of achieving things that once weren’t realistic.

4. Focus on giving. Be inspired by a cause that you can support. Work not for yourself but for something else or someone else. You’ll be amazed how this will awaken your fighting spirit.

5. Invest in significance. You’re successful—great. Who cares? There are a lot of successful people. You know what there aren’t a lot of? Successful people who help make other people successful. Who are you taking with you? Who are you investing in? Who is going to still be here changing the world once you’re gone?


THE PERFORMANCE RECOVERY PLAN

DEFINING EXPECTATIONS AND CONSEQUENCES

The purpose of a Performance Recovery Plan (PRP) is to take away the guesswork for you as the manager. Many managers struggle with deciding whether to let their underperformers go or not. As a leader, you believe in your people. It’s your job to see their potential and help them grow. So how do you know if you should continue to invest in your team member or if it’s time to help them be successful somewhere else?

Everyone makes mistakes. What makes someone stand out from the rest is how they recover from that mistake. You want people on your team who can turn their situation around and are willing to grow and improve.

A PRP is a set of predefined expectations with predetermined consequences if those expectations aren’t met. Having a PRP in place allows you to set clear expectations, so that your team member knows what they need to do to be successful and you know when and how to give them a consequence.

If you have a PRP in place, you won’t have to spend your time wondering, “Did I give this person all the help that they need? Do I keep them? Do I let them go?” It makes the situation objective instead of subjective. As leaders, we need to give people those checkpoints so they know what they need to do to be successful and clearly understand what the consequences will be if they don’t hit those checkpoints.

Having these processes in place will create a culture where underperformers who can’t turn things around will eject themselves. If the expectations are clear and they aren’t hitting them, they will be able to see the effect their performance is having on the team. You will know you’ve done everything you can to help them be successful. If you’re willing to let these people go, your top performers will have even more room to perform and your whole business will grow.


THE PERFORMANCE RECOVERY PLAN continued

SAMPLE PERFORMANCE RECOVERY PLAN This is a sample PRP from a current client of Southwestern Consulting that was put together with agreed-upon criteria and outcomes from the management team.

ASSUMPTIONSManagement reserves the right to take into consideration special situations, such as an act of God, short-term disability, family, or medical leave, etc.

Tenure is also a consideration in applying the PRP. For example, PRP generally does not apply to sales reps in their first 30 to 45 days. You must meet at least two of the remaining four unrequired criteria in order to avoid being in violation of the set forth PRP. If at any review point you fall below meeting the minimum standards for two or more of the set criteria, you will enter into the PRP.

INDIVIDUAL MINIMUM EXPECTATIONSSales managers will evaluate the non-empirical performance of teammates (e.g., attitude, adherence to recommended schedule, willingness to learn, ancillary contributions, etc.) and have the authority to recommend termination at any time. The activation of PRP is entirely empirical and generally follows these guidelines:

• First Offense IMPACT Verbal warning

• Second Offense IMPACT Written warning and additional required training sessions/review

• Third Offense IMPACT Final written warning and 50% loss of bonus potential

• Fourth Offense IMPACT Sales rep is recommended to be successful somewhere else

In the event that someone is placed on the PRP for one 30-day period and they do, in fact, fully recover during the next 30-day period, they will earn back one level of impact beyond their current position. If they are on track for three consecutive 30-day periods after being placed on PRP, then they restore to full original status.

Please note that PRPs do carry over between quarters. For example, someone who goes outside of the bounds of PRP toward the end of the quarters, will start the subsequent quarter at that same level of impact.



PERFORMANCE RECOVERY PLAN (PRP) FORMS

INITIAL MILESTONE DISCUSSION DOCUMENTATION

Employee Number: Employee Name:

Supervisor: Due to Initial PRP:

Employee Position: Date of Hire:

Check in 10 days after Initial PRP

Milestone 1 Date (Initial PRP Follow up)

Check in 10 days after Milestone 1

Milestone 2 Date

Check in 10 days after Milestone 2

Milestone 3 Date - Final Determination

INITIAL MILESTONE DISCUSSION

Specific - Specify the performance that is being discussed. In the month of _________, your performance goals in the following areas were not met.

DialsNew Contacts Presentations/Meetings Production

Measurable - Provide observable results of the unacceptable performance.For each CSF being addressed, list the goal and actual and attained percentages.

DialsNew Contacts Presentations/Meetings Production

Actions - List the action items required, with due dates, to successfully complete the plan. The due dates will typically be by the following month.

Results - Document expectations and potential consequences. This is a written notice to let you know that you are currently not reaching the goals set forth in our activity and production standards. Please note that this is a first/second/third offense.

First Offense IMPACT: Written Warning with Additional Required Training Sessions/ReviewSecond Offense IMPACT: Final Written Warning with Additional Required Training Sessions/Review Third Offense IMPACT: Further disciplinary action—up to and including termination

Timeline - Set a timeline for overall improvement and follow-up dates. This is typically 30 days, as we are measuring month by month. (You can make reference to the milestone dates listed above.)



INITIAL MILESTONE DISCUSSION DOCUMENTATION continued


INITIAL MILESTONE DISCUSSION

Leadership Commitment:

We will be working together to get you back up to the required standards based on CSFs and your sales incentive plan. My commitment is to help you through the next 30 days and get you back on track to hit your yearly goals. In order to help you get back on track:

First Offense - I will follow you for two hours per week for this 30-day period.• I will attend monthly training classes.

Second Offense - I will follow you for two hours per week for this 30-day period.• I will attend monthly training classes.• We will have two recorded reviews of my calls/presentations together.

Employee Comments:

I understand the information and requirement outline in this PRP. If after the duration of this plan or at any time during the plan it appears that success on my part is unlikely, I understand that further disciplinary action, up to and including termination, will result.

___________________________________ _________________________Employee Signature Date

___________________________________ _________________________Supervisor Signature Date



MILESTONE 1 - DISCUSSION DOCUMENTATION To be completed prior to the Milestone 1 Follow-up Discussion.


Initial Milestone:

Milestone 1:

Set Milestone 2 follow-up date:

MILESTONE 1 DISCUSSION

Milestone 1 (Document timing, expected results, and next steps):

Employee Comments:

I understand the information and requirements outlined in the Milestone 1 discussion. If after the duration of this plan or at any time during the plan it appears that success on my part is unlikely, I understand that further disciplinary action, up to and including termination, will result.







Initial Milestone:

Milestone 1:

Milestone 2:

Set Milestone 3 follow-up date:


Milestone 2 (Document timing, expected results, and next steps):

Employee Comments:

I understand the information and requirements outlined in the Milestone 2 discussion. If after the duration of this plan or at any time during the plan it appears that success on my part is unlikely, I understand that further disciplinary action, up to and including termination, will result.







Initial Milestone:

Milestone 1:

Milestone 2:

Milestone 3:


_______ Employee performance has continued to improve throughout the process and met the expectations of the Performance Recovery Plan. Employee is expected to sustain satisfactory levels of performance as outline in the PRP. Repetition of the same unacceptable performance in the future may lead to further action, up to and including termination.

_______ Employee has not sustained improved performance through the Performance Recovery Program and will remain on a Performance Recovery Plan, moving to second offense impact.

_______ Employee has not sustained improved performance through the Performance Recovery Process and termination will be processed.





SAMPLE FOLLOW-UP EMAILThis is a sample follow-up letter you can send after your initial meeting informing your team member they’re being placed on a PRP.

(Name),

First, thank you for your efforts here at COMPANY NAME. I appreciate the time you set aside to meet with me and I look forward to partnering with you to help you in any way that I can.

Based on our recent conversation, this is a written notice to let you know that you are currently out of the bounds set forth in our activity and production standards. Please note that this is a first offense in which we will be working together to get you back up to the previously set standards based on CSFs and your sales incentive plan.

[**RECAP CURRENT STANDINGS BASED ON CSFS AND/OR QUOTA.**]

My commitment is to help you over the next 30 days with the end result of getting you back on track to hit your yearly goals. In order to help you get back on track, please note the following will be put in place starting immediately:

[**INCLUDE PRP IMPACTS ON LEVEL OF OFFENSE.**]

Sincerely,(Name)


THE EXIT INTERVIEW

You’re going to have turnover. It’s inevitable. The best managers use that turnover as an opportunity to learn. Whether someone has been asked to leave or has resigned, you need to take the time to address the situation.

Oftentimes, when someone is leaving their job, they will feel guilty, as if they are letting you down. They could also feel resentful and feel as if you didn’t do enough to help them be successful. Whatever they might be feeling, you can create closure by conducting an exit interview.

1. Let them know you care. Even though they won’t be working for you anymore, let them know you still care about their happiness and success. This gesture will help set up the rest of the interview for success. The more comfortable they feel being honest, the more effective your exit interview will be.

2. Ask for feedback. Let them know you’re constantly working on being a better leader and you want their honest feedback. What could you do differently? Most of the advice you get will be genuine. Make sure you are open to receiving it.

3. Ask them if there is anything they would have done differently. Is there anything they could have done differently to have their role work out or make them want to stay? Help them take ownership of their actions and point out things that might have made a difference. Be nonjudgmental and let them know you care.

The exit interview will allow you to get helpful feedback as a leader and help your former team member be more successful in their next role. It will also help with any hard feelings that your former team member may have.


ACTION ITEMS

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ACTION ITEMS

IDENTIFY

Run a CSF report and identify your underperformers.

IMPLEMENT PROCESS

• Confront your underperformers.• Create a PRP.• Place appropriate team members on PRPs.

RECOMMENDED READING

Review this module’s recommended reading: • Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler• QBQ!: The Question Behind the Question by John G. Miller

confronting underperformers

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