> The U.S. Department of Education is investigating ways that the
> Department can deal with poor performers. This is based upon a recent
> employee survey in which only eight percent believed that the
> Department was dealing effectively with poor performance.
> We are interested in hearing of various innovative ways that
> organizations, both governmental and in the private sector,deal with
> their poor performers. Weare not so much concerned with those who
> should be fired but with those who could be redeemed.
Suggestions:
1. Find out why you are not so concerned with those who should be fired.
First, redemption has never been the strong suite of government agencies,
and second, spending supervisory time on our problem children does nothing
to nurture our top performers.
2. Ask each and every one of your people what they would do about it.
Listen and do not comment.
3. Anyone you fire should be fired quickly and efficiently. Avoid
reviewing the situation to death. Fire supervisors who cannot fire
someone efficiently.
4. Take another look at your sampling methods. If you have a workplace
rife with poor performers, what is the influence of their opinions on your
poll? On other polls?
5. Don't shoot for innovation, try to be effective instead. Innovation
is great when no good models exist, but there are plenty of effective
solutions for poor performance standards.
6. Make the continual review, teaching, and sharing of performance
standards a performance standard for all management personnel. Fire them
if they don't keep this on the front burner.
7. Hire people with a history of working in organizations with tight
performance standards. Give hiring preference points to people with a
history of top performance.
--Lon Badgett lonbadgett@aol.com "It's a little late to worry about consequences the day after you leave the barn door open." Emil Gobersneke
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>