With so much focus on employee retention and combatting high turnover, it may seem strange to even consider letting go of employees. However, employees who don’t carry their weight, complain a lot, or are unwilling to work cooperatively with others on the team, can cause solid employees to leave for a less toxic environment.
Managers should have regular meetings – 1:1 and team – not only to foster strong relationships with employees but also to observe and monitor behaviors. If someone seems to be making others uncomfortable or is continually unprepared, it may require additional research.
Frequent, ongoing employee assessments are extremely helpful for managers in tracking productivity, identifying challenges and gaps, keeping employees motivated, and planning for the future. Regular evaluations could help get ahead of an issue and refocus an employee, or could help those who are going above and beyond to feel recognized and appreciated.
But sometimes managers simply don’t know how to evaluate or analyze a situation – after all, managers are rarely trained as managers prior to being appointed and it can be demoralizing to have to ask for advice from colleagues.
With the Truvelop app, scorecards help managers accurately analyze individual employee performance and the overall status of the team. Is someone in need of mentorship or professional development? Could a high-performing team member be ready for advancement?
What if a team member isn’t performing? Replacement players can pose a real risk to your team and organization. Failure to appropriately address issues associated with these team members can foster resentment, mixed messages and a lack of accountability throughout your team and the entire organization.
However, replacement doesn’t always mean elimination. If a player is determined to be underperforming, it’s time to re-evaluate. It could be that the team member is simply in the wrong role.
Managers can get frustrated with underperforming team members, but in a lot of cases, the team member isn’t even aware of their deficiencies. It is important that when completing evaluations, managers include comments and notes to provide context and opportunities for improvement. Communication shouldn’t stop there. If a manager sees room for improvement, they need to frequently communicate the issues with the employee to monitor progress.
In the cases when attitude or maintenance issues may be so high, regardless of the team member’s potential, managers are left with no choice but to remove the individual from the organization.
Our team shares a few actionable steps to help managers decide what to do with a Replacement Player.
- A) Move Over
- If you think this team member is underperforming because they are in the wrong role, consider another role within the company in which the employee might be a better fit.
- B) Move Up
- If you believe the team member has the potential to grow into a C-Player or better, consider placing the team member on a documented Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). A PIP should indicate a commitment on your part to help the team member improve, not as a way to vent your frustrations as a manager or to start the termination process.
- C) Move Out
- If after working towards a PIP, the team member is still not performing up to standards, it may be time to part ways. To ensure proper compliance and avoid any legal risks, contact your supervisor and HR Department. Consult with them to understand your organization’s specific steps to move someone out of your organization.
- Be sure to have data to back up your case. Review previous Truvelop scores and history, performance assessments or reviews, as well as the results of PIP.
- Ensure you have all documentation where you have discussed and documented performance or attitude issues and discussed these issues with the team member. If you have been using Truvelop, that will all be present in the team member’s Summary history.
Employee development is an important role of the manager but some managers don’t understand how to foster development and growth among team members. The Truvelop app is a helpful tool for managers to evaluate, monitor and engage employees, and provides managers with helpful tips for each type of employee from an A player to a Replacement Player.
Contact us today to learn more about our modern approach to performance management and development and how it solves for retention. Don’t just take our word for it, see what our Customers have to say.
