Exhibit strong leadership with a clear vision and direction, while transferring and letting go of tasks. This is only possible if you can hand over tasks to people who surprise you in a positive sense. Unfortunately, it also means intervening when an employee is dysfunctional. That's no fun, but "bite the bullet" is the best method here: do it right away, don't talk around it and don't walk away from a difficult decision. So schedule that performance review right away! If you don't have the courage to tie the knot, you will always regret it afterwards, because it will create incompetence in your organization when you are striving for competence to achieve your growth goals.

Bite the bullet
Addressing a non-functioning employee: Bite the bullet! Bite the bullet is about responsibility and making decisions that are good for the health of the organization, but inconvenient for us personally and for someone else.

On the other hand: we don't believe in anyone going home and thinking, "Hey, how nice I dysfunctioned again today." Everyone wants to make a useful contribution; no one wants to be dysfunctional.

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It is good to question whether someone is making mistakes out of incompetence and does not fit the organization (anymore) or if there is nothing more to it. Take a look at the incompetence filter and ask yourself the questions the following:

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1. Make sure you address people directly for behavior that does not fit the core values or is transgressive and when performance is not good enough. 
2. Schedule a performance review. Engage in conversation by first asking questions to explore whether your impression is correct. Often we jump to conclusions that are all too often incorrect. We judge people on behaviors or actions that turn out to have been done in a very different context than we thought. A fair and trustworthy leader asks constructive questions. What happened? Ask in detail. What are the thoughts someone had? What preceded it? What were the efforts someone made and what was the result? 
3. Think again about the set of tasks someone has. Do they actually match up? Could the cause of dysfunction lie in an impossible set of tasks? Question the employee in question about this as well. 
4. Look carefully at the context in which someone has to do their job. How is there collaboration with others? How are the relationships with others?
   Often our behavior is a reaction to the behavior of others. For example, the more you check up on me every day and approach me with distrust, the more I think: do it yourself if you know better anyway. And the more I think that, the less I take responsibility for my own work and performance and the more often you think: I have to control it, otherwise it won't be good enough. And that's how we keep each other in check. 

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Performance appraisal preparation for employers

First, during the performance review, see if you can help someone get better by identifying the above situations. In doing so, make clear exactly what you expect. What is the behavior and/or performance you want to see? When does someone do well? Next: 

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1. After that, keep your finger on the pulse. Schedule a performance review every six weeks to evaluate with each other whether things are improving. This does not have to be a super-heavy conversation right away. You are still searching together for what someone needs to do better. What works and what doesn't and why?
2. If you cannot resolve the dysfunction and make other adjustments that will actually make things right, then it is time to break up. 
3. Give people perspective in the conversation, but also be clear that you don't see a future in your business. Prepare this interview well. Also remember: you hired the person. You made the assessment that this person could do it. Be clear about the steps to be taken and give the employee time to seek external advice. 

These steps are further detailed. Here you will also find templates and time frames to consider.

Need help? Feel free to contact us!