To feel sick at the thought...

[squiddybear]

Next week I have to have a conversation with a new member of staff regarding his future at the company.
He is quite frankly shit and not only bad at the job but also bad with people which has lead to complaints.

He has been in the role for 2 months and has shown no improvement. I have been told by my boss that I need to sit down with him on Monday and basically tell him it's not good enough. This won't be the first time we've had this conversation and after we normally have it his work performance rises for a week then drops again.

He is not a good fit for the role or the team and I think he knows this as he has said that it wasn't the job he was expecting and he doesn't like it.

AIBU to feel sick at the thought of this conversation. I've never been so nervous for the backlash and potential upset?

So we've had a previous meeting where SMART targets were set. These were shared with him via writing. Following this meeting we had a week of better performance then it went downhill again. Our biggest concern now is conduct in the workplace so slightly different than our original conversation.

There was more detail to what I was given but as @Puzzledandpissedoff stated I didn't want to give full details but the overview is he's not good enough

He will not be let go at this meeting it is to basically say you have 2-3 weeks to improve before we will have a conversation regarding leaving the company.

@Frazzledme training has been delivered. We are not working from home. We also had 5 people start at the same time so we have a good idea of where people should reasonably be. However our biggest issue at the moment is around conduct but work performance is a big issue.

@squiddybear

So we've had a previous meeting where SMART targets were set. These were shared with him via writing. Following this meeting we had a week of better performance then it went downhill again. Our biggest concern now is conduct in the workplace so slightly different than our original conversation.

There was more detail to what I was given but as @Puzzledandpissedoff stated I didn't want to give full details but the overview is he's not good enough

He will not be let go at this meeting it is to basically say you have 2-3 weeks to improve before we will have a conversation regarding leaving the company.

@Frazzledme training has been delivered. We are not working from home. We also had 5 people start at the same time so we have a good idea of where people should reasonably be. However our biggest issue at the moment is around conduct but work performance is a big issue.

It sounds basically as though he's been given chances to improve and has got worse (ie new issues arising) and he needs to be gently and carefully managed out.

He needs to be given an explicit picture of what is expected of him (performance and behaviour) concrete examples of where he's showing he's not meeting that (ie where the gap is) and guidance on how to bridge the gap with a timeframe to do this in, the opportunity to ask for support (you asking "what can we do to help you meet the standard?") and he needs to know exactly what will happen if this doesn't happen. What this is depends on HR but I suppose he'll be let go. In my experience people this should be a managed, clear process and the employee usually resigns before you need to do the actual deed.

You need to have meetings at the end of every day to discuss his performance and behaviour in relation to what his expected.

Basically, the process should be so managed and intentional it shouldn't be enough to make you nervous. Perhaps the fact you feel sick means it's being rushed. And it sounds as though you're not being supported either? Is someone from HR advising you?

So it sounds as if the processes are being followed properly - good to hear that, considering how many companies don't

If the performance issues have now become conduct as well, it may be that he knows it's over and can no longer be bothered to mask the "worst bits". I wouldn't be terribly confident that there'll be a way back from this, but good luck with the attempt and the difficult conversations; I know it's not easy, but hopefully you'll be properly supported and who knows ... he may just walk anyway

It’s a difficult conversation to have, especially if you’re new to management. Feel for you OP. You’re not going to be perfect at delivering this type of news and you might not get it right but all you can do is deliver it in private, with respect and clarity. I find it hard as I’ve never deliver, received or witnessed someone being told they aren’t good enough so you don’t even have your own experience to fall back on.