Our client ran a medium-sized electrical services company and understood there is a direct correlation between business performance and recognising, and developing, standout employees. One particular employee had started very well but, over a period of time, her workrate and interest level had fallen off. She was potentially capable of making a significant contribution to the business which was particularly frustrating for management. She had been a hard to find to candidate who had excelled in every area with which she had been involved until this drop off.
Dwindling Motivation
We worked with management and with this executive to understand the reasons for under performance and her apparently dwindling levels of motivation. It became apparent that working in a mainly male environment, and with less than average experience at that point, her confidence in her own ability had been eroded. She needed to be supported to re-build her confidence and self-esteem, to acquire strategies for those occasions when she felt she was not being taken seriously, and to remodel her thinking about colleagues at such times.
Understanding More
It was also important to understand and discuss her aspirations, goals and her possible career path within the business. With a better understanding of her position and future prospects, her motivation was restored and she again became a key team member, given increased responsibilities and a series of promotions.
Outstanding performers, those who seem to know almost instinctively the best way to achieve challenging objectives, and just get on with it, are rare. However, none of us are perfect and where the situation is retrievable, reasonable efforts should be made.
Lessons from this piece of work
- Maintain workable levels of trust and communications with all employees
- Underperformance can be for many reasons but some of them can be fixable by, or working with, management
- Don’t let a difficult situation persist to the point where the employer/employee relationship has withered beyond hope
- Consider engaging an experienced third party to help probe and resolve the situation
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