WHEN IT COMES TO PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
One best practice is to provide appropriate skills upgrade training
and measure everyone’s performance as soon as change is being
planned and introduced. This way it’s easily caught if someone
looks like they are struggling and may need a bit more time, training
or coaching/mentoring. In addition, people who are resistant
to change also get identified early and can be managed appropriately.
This is a clear example of where equal doesn’t necessarily
mean equitable.
THE EMPLOYEE
It’s worth repeating that change should be always be expected, by
everyone. Employees should especially expect to pivot when a new
leader is brought in or new technology is adopted. Change also
happens when the company or a division is tackling a new opportunity
or new challenge in their sector – like a competitor.
As HR Lawyer Laurie Jessome, partner at Cassels Brock said,
“Employees should always be thinking, ‘If I was applying for this
job today, would I be a top contender? Is it likely they would
want to hire me?’ If the answer is no, it’s not the company that’s
the problem.”
Change provides a challenge for anyone who enjoys the comfort
of routine and/or the reputation of “expert” or “top performer.”
The thing is, an expert or top performer who isn’t willing to stay
current will soon lose their crown. Alternatively, change provides
a great opportunity for anyone looking to develop new skills. The
only chance an expert or top performer has to keep their status is
to accept change and grow/innovate with the company, which are
strong motivators for the millennial and Gen Z cohorts. Change
also provides experienced employees an even greater opportunity
to increase their status or reputation by becoming a mentor or
coach. Also, change can provide an equal opportunity to younger
hr practice
employees to become reverse mentors on things like current
trends, technology and social media.
Employees who show an unwillingness to change have in effect,
chosen to quit; as long as the company has been clear with expectations
and provided the time and resources to adapt. Jessome goes
on to suggest the best approach is often to, “let them go and pay
the appropriate severance. As long as a company’s change in direction
is lawful and reasonable, employees are required to follow that
new direction.” Staying and not doing their job as it evolves should
never be a choice – even for top sales people, for example. If companies
and/or leaders make an exception for one employee or one
team, it will create morale problems and make it difficult to standardize
other practices. Exceptions should only exist when finding
solutions to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities.
CONCLUSION
In today’s economy, company strategies are adjusting at a faster
pace than ever. The first obligation is on the company or leader
to be clear about what the expectations are and what happens if
employees don’t meet them. As Stuart Rudner, employment lawyer
and mediator at Rudner Law said, “In many cases leaders fail
to clearly communicate concerns with employees. This allows
employees to subsequently deny they understood the seriousness
of the situation. If the employee is able to say, ‘The company the
leader, did share some information, but I didn’t see it seriously
because they let it slide often and I didn’t know it was going to cost
me my job,’ then this will likely be an expensive dismissal.” In this
case, it’s likely judges will come down hard on the company.
Nobody enjoys having difficult conversations and very few
professionals are trained on how to give or receive constructive
criticism. If leaders avoid difficult conversations, they are not supporting
the success of the company, themselves or the employee.
Also, not having these conversations may mean an employer will
not be able to dismiss the employee for “just cause” and instead
have to pay a hefty severance package only because the employee
was never given a fair chance to understand the expectations and
work toward them.
Lawyers also recommend leaders keep detailed and current documentation
that shows what communication and opportunities
have been discussed through good times and bad. Rudner said,
“Too often I see cases where there has not been clear, documented
communication with feedback being shared with the employee.”
Many of the HR lawyers interviewed for this article also agree
a good employment contract can save employers lots of grief and
expense. They recommend that on day one of any new job, someone
at the company should meet with the new employee to have
a documented performance management conversation about key
performance indicators and how employees are expected to “adapt
with the company.” They also advise to be careful of times when
there has been no history of performance management challenges
or performance management correction. If leaders decide it’s inefficient
or not appropriate to offer retraining – for example – then
the recommendation is to be generous with severance. n
Bruce Mayhew is a corporate trainer, conference speaker and
executive coach.
It is the responsibility of leaders to communicate times of
organizational change and the resulting expectations with
all employees
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