Do you feel worn out?

Dealing with underperformers can be emotionally draining!  But, if you don’t deal with it, it can become a disease that infects your entire team.  No matter that your business is, all of us have had to deal with an underperformer at one time or another.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic many employers have been dealing with burnout and fatigue on their teams. Addressing performance issues in stressful circumstances can feel daunting and complicated, but it’s vital to maintaining good mental health and high levels of productivity.

If you’ve been postponing difficult conversations, try these three tips:

1. Understand the problem – there are often external influences that impact an employee’s performance. Take time to know what fuels their passions outside of work. Knowing the full picture can help you tie in personal goals with their work performance. For instance if working four 10-hour days and having a three day weekend would improve family life, consider how that would improve performance at work.

2. Initiate “mental health” checks – external stressors can have a profound impact on an employees performance. During your dedicated 1:1 meetings, regularly check in on how they are doing emotionally. Allow for sharing in a two-way conversation to brainstorm solutions that produce a win/win outcome.

3. Demonstrate you’re invested – during your meetings, be specific and offer examples of how different actions could produce better results. Show that you are committed to their personal development by sharing expectations. Recognize that their attitude correlates with their performance. 

While no one expects business owners to be therapists, these are three simple things you can do to keep your team engaged and motivated.

Schedule a free strategy call and let’s see how we can keep your team healthy and performing at high levels.