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Handling Performance Issues &
Difficult Conversations
Managing@Fujitsu Program
Facilitator
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Workshop objectives
To identify when and how to address performance issues
Benefits of providing regular feedback, planning to
address, conducting the review, establishing performance
measurement, monitoring for success
Your role as a people manager in the performance
management process
The tools available
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Groundrules
Participate fully
Confidentiality
Keep to time
Ask, challenge,
bring your ideas
- be aware of others
Have fun
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Introductions
Name
Current position and business group
How long in the manager role
What are some of the key performance issues you have had
to deal with in your role?
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Agenda
Introductions
Last session review
Performance issues
Providing feedback
Performance measurement
Issue identification
DISC consciousness
Stages of recognition including PEER
methodology
Performance Improvement Process
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Clarifying Performance Expectations
What is the KPI?
What value does it have to the organisation?
Priority of the KPI?
Actual measurable goal?
What data source is used to measure?
What resources are needed?
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Providing Constructive Feedback
Get into the habit
Its about behaviour not the person
Be specific
Prepare with the purpose to
improve performance
State your positive intentions
State the impact (business or
personal) that the behaviour had
At this point ask questions of the
employee on how the situation
can be improved
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Team Dysfunction
Patrick Lencioni
has identified the 5 dysfunctions of a team as follows:
(The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – a Leadership Fable, 2002)
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Inattention
to
results
Avoidance of
Accountability
Lack of commitment
Fear of conflict
Absence of Trust
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To provide clear objectives and priorities so everyone knows
where we are going as an organisation
To provide an environment where employees know exactly
what is expected of them
To provide the opportunity for early intervention in
performance issues
To ensure compliance with relevant legislation
To foster a high performance culture where poor
performance is addressed expediently
Why we manage unsatisfactory performance
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Performance Issues
What type of issues can exist?
Unsatisfactory performance
Unsatisfactory behaviour
Serious misconduct
What are some examples
of performance issues you
have dealt with?
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Failure to complete tasks or allocated work within
reasonable specified times
Failure to abide by Fujitsu’s policies and procedures
Making representations that impact Fujitsu’s reputation
Failure to consistently produce a satisfactory quality of
work
Failure to meet standards set out in performance criteria
Failure to respect the well being of other employees
What is unsatisfactory performance?
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What is unsatisfactory behaviour
Insubordination
Excessive lateness/absenteeism
Rudeness
Unwillingness to perform certain tasks as directed
Underperformance
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What is serious misconduct?
Serious misconduct may include (but is not limited to):
Theft
Assault
Fraud
Being intoxicated at work; or
The employee is refusing to carry
out a lawful instruction that is
consistent with the employee’s
contract of employment.
Serious breaches of
Health and Safety policy
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Why Provide Regular Feedback?
What are the 3 types of feedback?
Positive, Negative and None
Why should we give feedback?
Feedback needs to be outcome or process oriented
When can/should we give feedback?
The importance of recognition
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Drucker Theory
Peter Drucker discusses Pillars of management that incorporate staff to
have:
Responsibility
Authority and
Accountability
for their actions, best described below
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Above the line behaviour
Accountability
Responsibility
Ownership
Below the line behaviour
Excuses
Denial
Blaming others
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Leadership Style
What’s your disc profile?
Do you need to adapt your style to tailor your approach to the
individual?
Increase your effectiveness and communication?
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D
Direct
Dominant
Decisive
25% of Population
I
Influencing
Interactive
Inspiring
25% of Population
C
Correct
Cautious
Conscientious
25% of Population
S
Stable
Steady
Secure
25% of Population
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Chinese word for crisis
Danger Opportunity
Distress Harmony
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PEER System Methodology
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P
• Planning
Performance
review and
preparation
E
• Expectations
and
measurement
E
• Engineering
mutual
solutions
R
• Review and
monitor
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PEER System – Planning and Preparation
Planning performance review meeting and preparation
Gather evidence in respect to the performance issue
Prepare to focus on the employee’s behaviours, not his or her personality, while
delivering development feedback. Protect their self image.
Validate your perspective with tangible examples. Focus on consistent behaviours
and frequent incidents rather than one-off examples
Accompany negative feedback with suggestions for doing the job better
Maintain a structured flow during the conversation, and cover one topic at a time to
ensure clarity. Include a short introduction, and avoid using jargon or obscure words
to describe strengths and development areas
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PEER System – Expectations
Review KPI’s
Fujitsu expectations
Setting goals and targets
Training needs analysis
Providing empowerment
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PEER System – Engineering solutions
They must be mutual
It could be training or mentoring
It could be more support or resources
Give the employee a few minutes to reflect on the feedback once you
have delivered the review, and ask for questions or thoughts
End the discussion on a positive note with a summary of the
performance review
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Peer System Methodology - R
Regularly monitor
Inspect what you expect
Provide feedback
If no change in performance have a further discussion
• Refer back to original informal discussion
• Confirm that the employees performance or actions are still not acceptable
• Emphasise consequences
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Performance Improvement Process (PIP)
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Stage 1
Early recognition
Stage 2
Early notification
Stage 3
Observation and documentation
Stage 4
Warnings
Stage 5
Conclusive action
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(PIP) Stage 1 - Early Recognition
Recognising there is an issue
Taking action to address the issue
How would Inaction be interpreted?
What are some examples of activities that can indicate poor
performance?
Why do you think we sometimes delay?
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(PIP) Stage 2 – Early notification
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As soon as a performance problem has been
recognised bring it to the attention of the
employee in question. Do not wait until a
performance review
What are the benefits?
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How to conduct an effective conversation
Informal discussion. Discussion may include addressing:
Problem
Other factors contributing to the problem
Clear and concise explanation
Opportunity to respond
Solutions and actions
Arrange follow-up discussion (if appropriate)
Consequences
Document the conversation
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Do’s and Don’ts
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Identify behaviour or
performance that is
unsatisfactory
Ask employee for their
input/response
Listen to their response
Ask what you can do to help
Provide an opportunity to
improve
Document discussions
Jump to conclusions
Take action before getting
their side of the story
Have discussions in an
open environment
Have conversation on a
Friday (unless it is serious
misconduct which should be
addressed immediately)
Behave inappropriately
Do
Don’t
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(PIP) Stage 3 Observation and documentation
Issue has been discussed
Time frame has been given
Opportunity for correction provided
Continued observation
Feedback supplied
Improvement occurs/does not occur
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(PIP) Stage 4 Warnings
Investigate (confidentially)
Arrange formal meetings
Adequate notice and details
Witness
Put allegations to the employee (including all evidence
Opportunity to respond
Review mitigating circumstances or new evidence
Decision verbal or formal written
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(PIP) Stage 4 Warnings – Verbal or written
Decide on an outcome – decision
Refer back to previous file notes/discussions (if applicable)
Actions to be taken (by each party)
Arrange review date (if applicable)
Consequences
Complete documentation
Sign the Record of Discussion
Give the employee a copy
Send copy to HR Central for filing
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(PIP) Step 4 – Further Formal Warning
Similar to second formal counselling, except:
Ensure that both in the written record and during the
interview, specific reference is made to the fact that “continued
unsatisfactory performance / behaviour / actions / misconduct
may result in termination of employment”
It is essential that this be mentioned so that the employee is
aware of the consequences of continued poor performance or
misconduct
If the problem is not being remedied be sure to consider
carefully, why not… You may need to change your approach to
the issue.
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(PIP) Stage 4 Warnings - Further Formal
Process is the same as the before
If termination is a possibility
Make decision
Reconvene meeting – provide employee with further
opportunity to respond
• No further comments – Termination if appropriate
• Further comments – Review this information
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(PIP) Stage 4 Warnings - First and Final
A first and final warning may be appropriate in circumstances
where an incident does not fall into the category of ‘serious
misconduct’ but is so serious that any further instances of it
would result in termination.
Process is the same as outlined previously.
The first and final warning should make it very clear that failure
to improve or a repeat of the conduct will result in termination
of employment.
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(PIP) Stage 5 Conclusive action
Make final decision:
• Termination
• Advise employee and explain reasons
• Should termination occur be sure the Record of Discussion, the PCR
Termination, timesheet and any other paperwork is completed
immediately to ensure final payments are made in a timely manner.
OR
• Further formal counselling (note that although the decision in this
instance was not to terminate, further poor performance may result in
termination of employment
• Complete the Record of Discussion
• Give the employee a copy
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Performance Improvement Process
Guide for Managers
Read it
Practice it
Use it
Always ask for help if unsure
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Continuing the process
Edwards Deming
Ongoing continuous improvement process
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This should be up when participants come into the room.Once you are ready to begin welcome everyone to the courseMove quickly to the next slide
Go through the objectives fairly quicklyThis is not an easy topic, positive in some parts, difficult and awkward in others and even litigious in others.It is however all about achieving better performance outcomes for you, your team members and Fujitsu.
Go through these quickly. Set a positive tone for the session.
You are all here because you lead and supervise team members and are responsible for many aspects of their performance.Get each participant to introduce themselves and their area of responsibility and afterward pose to the group the question.
This a review of the past session on Clarifying Performance Expectations and how it links into this session.When considering KPI’s you should be able to give the following information to the person to whom you are assigning them:What is the KPI: Define the Major Responsibilities (activities, tasks, projects, training individual development items) What value does it have to the organisation (this is key to show how their work connects to the bigger picture!) What is the priority of the KPI (If you give them a number of KPI’s they should know which are most important) What is the actual measurable goal? What data source will be used to measure success? What resources, individuals, tools or strategies can the individual refer to that would assist them? Leaders and Managers need to ensure that they are keeping their staff aligned with the core organisational values and beliefs, whether they are actually written into a Code of Conduct or assumed as unwritten rules within Fujitsu.
This is a review of the past session on Providing constructive feedbackGet into the habit of giving regular feedback give as soon as feasibleIts about the behaviour not the person(leave out “You” as much as possible) Be specific Set yourself up mentally to deliver feedback with the purpose to improve performance State your positive intentions State the impact (business or personal) that the behaviour had At this point ask questions of the employee on how the situation can be improved What other take-away’s do you recall from the course and how have you applied your learning
Patrick Lencioni, renowned international author and leadership, team and organisational expert has listed the 5 dysfunctions of a team and the leaders role in overcoming these.Managers need to be aware of the dysfunctions that can eventuate within a team and further investigate causes, then determine suitable options to solve the problems raised by a team member or the problems within the team itself. If a team member is operating with one of the dysfunctions this has the potential to effect the whole team Conduct a discussion surrounding which ones from the list they deem the most relevant in their experience and why?
Ask the group the question “Why do we need to manage unsatisfactory performance?”Write the answers on the white board, solicit discussion and then go through the slide Managers are responsible for guiding and managing the performance of employees, both as individuals and as a team. Managers need to set performance objectives, provide feedback, appraise performance, guide development and ensure employees are rewarded for good performance.
Discuss with your partner and write in your work book what you think the types of issues are and then share an example they have had to deal with to each other Then ask to share types and ask for examples around the room of performance issues they may have dealt with in the past
Now discuss with your partner and write in your workbooks what are some of the key elements you believe constitute unsatisfactory performance? So what do you think happens if we do not address unsatisfactory performance as soon as we identify it?
Discuss these individually and ask the group for examples
Discuss these individually with the group and ask for examples
What are the 3 types of feedback? Positive, Negative and None, which do we like most positive, second negative, (most answer none but we would rather know bad news than not all, use examples of waiting to hear of a job application or home loan etc.) discuss each one.Why should we give feedback? Answers could includeTo acknowledge effortSo bad habits don’t form Because your team expects you toIf performance not addressed results in low team morale and lack of trust in managementFair distribution of workManagers need to be able to give feedback in a manner that is:Outcome – Team members need to know whether the task was achieved and whether the result was acceptableProcess – Team members need to know whether the way the task was achieved was acceptable Use examplesIts important to have regular conversations with staff and provide feedback – including positive and constructiveThis can prevent most serious performance issuesGet the group to list the when should we give feedbackMethods of providing feedback include:Team meetingAnnual reviewHalf yearly reviewRegular one-on-onesTimely ad-hoc feedback More formal methods includeProbation periodRegular meetingsPerformance reviewsRecognition is the most powerful form of employee feedback. Timely appropriate recognition to an employee is feedback that reinforces actions you want to see more of from the employee.
Peter Drucker, international management consultant, educator and author talks about staff having the following and that their behaviour will always be above the line or below the line.Discuss with the group
Discuss previous results of employee’s disc profile from Intro to M@F and how this can assist in by knowing your profile and the other staff member can result in a better outcome.
Introduce the first case study.In groups, get them to write in their workbooks how they would approach the situation, acknowledging that we haven’t gone through the process yet. When they share their answers this will gauge where participants are up to in issue handling and get a group representative to share and discuss their approaches
Like the Chinese word for crisis, which combines the symbols for danger and opportunity, difficult conversations can lead to either distress or harmony.We usually anticipate distress because difficult conversations often become emotional, leading us to confront, freeze, bolt or gloss over the issues. But we should choose to expect harmony instead
Address the slide and go through each step
People mostly dislike confrontationOne of the key ways to overcome this is strong, detailed and orderly preparation, this is one of the most important steps, do this step well and the other steps become easier
Informal discussion. Discussion may include addressing:ProblemOther factors contributing to the problemClear and concise explanationOpportunity to respondSolutions and actionsArrange follow-up discussion (if appropriate)ConsequencesDocument the conversation
Go through each of these points and discuss individually with them asking for real examples
If you don’t regularly review then it will perceived that you don’t care, are not serious and it will reflect on you as a leader.
This is the Fujitsu methodologyThese stages deal with all the possible scenarios and as we move through each the situation is becoming more serious and obviously comes with greater consequencesIdeally, the more positive, constructive action taken in the initial stages will prevent the issue escalating
Recognising that there is a performance issueTaking action to address the issueInaction will be interpreted as acceptance by the employeeWhat are some examples of activities that can indicate poor performance?Why do we delay? Don’t like confrontation, believe it will right itself, too busy etc.
DiscussAs soon as a performance problem has been recognised bring it to the attention of the employee in question. Do not wait until a performance reviewBringing the performance issue in question to the attention of the individual provides the opportunity for:The employee to be given the opportunity to realise a performance issue exists. The employee may be totally unaware of how off track they are with their performanceThe people manager to communicate the facts relating to the performance issues, to reiterate performance expectations, identify any contributing factors, identify any remedial action required and listen to the individuals perception of the situation
Discuss each point and the need for documentation, ask why?
Go through them individually and ask if any questions or comments.
Discuss and seek contribution, asking why? for each point
No one wants to hear that their performance is less than expected. After counselling and coaching from a Manager yield no improvement, however, written disciplinary action must begin – to protect Fujitsu’s interests – and those of the employee. Investigate – how?Adequate notice. Why? (in writing)Provide witness Why?Allegations - For ongoing issues include the process to date to attempt to resolve. (In some instances, i.e. policy breach, it may be necessary to ask the employee to explain their understanding of the policy)
What options do you think you have in respect to Actions? PIP, training, increased supervision, change of hours/start times.You all can run through to the First Formal Warning without HR’s personal attendance. More than happy to discuss in preparation and review but need you to take responsibility, with your managers, to this point.Points to note:Emphasise that the purpose of counselling is resolving the issue/improving their performance NOT punishment.Make sure that you undertake a full and thorough investigationIf a follow-up date is set, make sure that you undertake a further review by that time. (Even if the issue has been resolved some record of the follow-up should be kept, i.e. file note)Always advise the employee that the issue is totally confidential and that under no circumstances should they discuss it with any other person whether involved in the issue or not.
Go through and refer to more detail in the PIP
Process is the same as the previous formal counselling session until you reach the decisionShould termination be a possible outcome you must have a HR representative present and HR EGM approval before dismissalMake decision - If it appears that the employee may be dismissed, advise them that the company is considering terminating their employment and ask them for any reasons why this should not occur, then suspend (with pay) for 24 hours whilst you consider what action you wish to take
You need to apply a full process in all cases except where the issue you are dealing with is extremely bad. In this case we consider as an outcome immediate termination. Does anyone know how we would classify a breach whereby immediate termination may be considered? Serious and Wilful Misconduct.
We’ll take a look at Termination in a second. Termination should be viewed as a separate process despite the fact that the counselling/investigation in some cases leads to Termination in the same conversation.You may need, only in the cases of very serious breaches, to go through to a First and Final warning. Can you think of some examples where this might be the case? Fighting, abusive behaviour, harassment etc.
Second case study, in groups of 3Using what they have learned today.Firstly defining the stages and process as a group and then working in groups of 3 role play with participants acting as the manager, staff member and an observer to provide the feedback on conclusion.np
Go through hand outUse this as a summary to pull together the whole workshop
Explanation of Edwards DemingEdwards Deming, college professor, author, lecturer, leader of the Japanese resurgence in the 1950’s and inventor of the Quality management system that still exists today discusses that:Part of the continuous improvement process as a Leader and Manager involves an ongoing system of performance measurement, providing feedback and dealing with performance issues.This acronym of PDCA can help with this processPLAN – Planning when and how to give feedback consciously, regularly and immediatelyDO – Executing the planCHECK – Checking the actual outcomes and results and monitoring the performanceACT – Taking action to improve the process, fine tuning the plan, identifying further opportunities for improvement.This process in continual and never ends