By Christina Attrah – Glassdoor

Perhaps you’ve noticed business isn’t ‘as usual’ lately and you’ve realized that a staff member or two haven’t quite been performing up to scratch. Underperformance in employees can have a huge domino effect if it’s not dealt with and could result in serious issues like profit loss and decreased team morale.

We’ve decided to investigate what constitutes underperformance, causes, how to identify an underperforming employee and the necessary steps to amicably resolve the issue.

What is underperformance?

Underperformance is when an employee is performing their duties below the required level expected. The following points underline some of many examples that class as underperformance:

• Failing to perform duties to a high standard/altogether
  
• Non-compliance of work policies and procedures
  
• Bad behavior that negatively impacts others in the workplace.
  

What causes underperformance in employees?

Lack of growth opportunities

Employee goals vary – some may just be after job stability whilst others may want to progress within a company.

The reassurance of growth opportunities is imperative to driving motivation. If there is no ‘progression’, no matter which form this is presented in, then employees can display attributes of underperformance.

Lack of variety

Lack of variety in the job can lead to everyday tasks becoming mundane. This, in turn, causes a lack of inspiration which affects the standard of work that’s churned out.

Lack of communication

If you’re not receiving the right communication – whether that’s related to job performance or critical HR updates, this can lead to burnout and unclear goals.

[Related: How Being on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work List Pays Off]

Work-related stress

This occurs when employees are unable to work properly due to stress which can manifest physically and mentally – affecting overall job performance.

Lack of settling in period

The on-boarding process in a new job is critical. Time restraints and seasonal changes can affect how much time and money goes into settling employees in, however, shortening this process for the sake of profitable gain can damage their ability to perform tasks in the long run.

Personal issues

Some issues can be so serious that they impact our day. When employees feel down due to issues outside of work this can seriously affect their ability to concentrate, especially when they feel like there’s no support system in place.