By Janie Warner
As of this writing, the virtual world is talking about a business owner who fired 900 employees via a Zoom call. The reasoning? Lack of productivity while working remotely. Of course, there are many other theories about this rather extreme example of employee management, but it does seem to be a sign of the turbulence companies find themselves navigating right now.
Aside from the coldness of terminating employees en masse via virtual meeting, this is a good example of what happens when performance driven companies (aren’t they all?) are unable to manage their employees by holding them accountable for set standards of productivity.
There is certainly an argument to be made about the failure of this particular entity to manage their remote workers. One report said that the employees who were terminated were only averaging 2 hours of actual work per 8 hour work day. If true, where were the managers of these workers? Were they aware of the on-going lack of diligent production? Did the managers address the low performance individually? Did they examine root causes? Since every Business 101 class will tell you that “what gets measured, gets managed”, where were the statisticians and what plans for improvement were implemented before the mass termination of a third of the company’s workforce?
Obviously, there are many things we simply do not know about this particular case, but it does remind all of us the importance of METRICS and the application of management principles to these metrics to push a desired business outcome. We simply have to be more deliberate in crafting, measuring and enforcing performance goals so our employees will perform at their highest achievable level.
Since it is the start of a New Year, it’s a great time to get back to some basics:
- GOAL SETTING
- If you haven’t done so already, each employee should have been given measurable and achievable goals. These should have been developed with employee input and communicated clearly – especially HOW the goals will be measured. These goals should also be in keeping with the overall corporate goals so that company MISSION is top of mind for every employee as they work to produce in their position.
- PERIODIC CHECK-INS
- Once goals are set and communicated, each manager should review the performance metrics on a regular basis. This includes evaluating the sustainability of the goals as the year advances and speaking to each employee regarding their individual achievements (both good and bad).
- RECOGNIZING PERFORMANCE
- When performance goals are being met, be sure to recognize and reward employees appropriately. When performance goals are not being met, examining causes and discussing ways to improve – including additional training – is a management imperative.
- ADDRESS ENGAGMENT
- Although employee engagement has been discussed to death in the past few years, it is still an important indicator of employee satisfaction in their jobs. Some studies have suggested that employees who are kept informed about their performance – both positively and negatively – are more engaged overall. This is important when unemployment is low and workforce participation is at an all-time low.
- NO SURPRISES AT EVALUATION
- Most organizations still conduct annual performance evaluations for each employee. These are great tools to review what has happened during the previous 12 months and set NEW GOALS for the next year. It is important there be NO SURPRISES at evaluation time. No employee should ever be blindsided by a negative review. Ever. Effective management is predicated on addressing issues as they happen and not waiting until an employee has no chance for improvement before mentioning any short comings.
- NO SURPRISE TERMINATIONS
- Except for layoffs and RIFs, no employee should be surprised by a termination. Especially a termination based on poor job performance. Employees should have been given ample opportunity to improve their work performance long before termination occurs. When this level of communication is conducted properly, an employee will not be surprised when they are “let go” for lack of production.
In our example above, we do not know if employees were genuinely surprised – or if they has just assumed that their reduced production was acceptable to management. Without information, employees will make up their own stories – and very often will come to believe those stories. In the world of data we find ourselves working in today, there are no excuses for springing a poor evaluation or termination on any employee. If metrics are being gathered, metrics should be used.
And whether an employee is working on-site or remotely, the management principles are the same. Understanding how performance and success are defined is the key to effective management. Commitment to frequent and meaningful communication is the vehicle through which we build our employees’ individual performances and ultimately how we create corporate success.
If our employees are truly viewed as valuable assets, we have to treat them as such. All assets need monitoring, maintenance and care to optimize their performance. Our people are no different.
Make 2022 the year of meaningful measurement. And reap the rewards of better engagement.
Vice President/HR Practice Leader
McGriff, Inc.