Performance - affected by Pandemic. Too many excuses.

[fucketyfuckwit]

I'm in need of some advice please. Just initially on how to deal with this. I will of course get proper professional assistance should I need to take the matter further.

I have an employee who has been with me for 4 years. Their work over the past 2 years has been up and down (mostly down). They do a job which needs concentration. It's not a difficult job but it just needs focus. They only work 4 short days a week within school hours.

When talking to them about their performance, I get told that 'We are in a Pandemic don't you know' and that is the reason behind their poor work and mistakes. Or 'It's my time of the month, I'm a bit wibbly' .

I have been sympathetic up until now, but I have had enough, the standard of their work is getting me down and my clients have started to notice.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom or some examples of come backs please when this is said. I will have to talk to them again soon and I have a number of examples of their poor work to show them.

I don't want to be taken for a mug, but at the same time I need to acknowledge that it has been a difficult year, but we all need to put our worries aside when we start work and focus on the job in hand.

1. Does your employer have a performance management/poor performance process? If so familiarise yourself with them and make sure you follow it for all the staff you manage. Talk to HR if you are unclear what to do.
2. Is the employee WFH or in the office? If WFH they may be getting distracted and this is why they are making mistakes. If so, suggest they come into the office to see if that makes a difference.
3. Time of the month - ask if they have spoken to their GP to see if there is anything they can do/recommend. If they continue to have issues then check they have seen GP, if not advise them to do so and that you may refer to OH. Some employees genuinely have issues and understanding what can be done to assist both medically and work wise can help if it is affecting performance. This approach means you are taking it seriously and trying to assist.
4. As you say acknowledge that the pandemic has been difficult for everyone but we are all going to have to accept that it will be with us in the long term. Advise that clients are noticing a drop in the quality of the teams work (at the initial stage keep it general) and are looking for improvements. Run through the example of their poor work and ask them what they can suggest to improve the quality of their work - prompt but give them responsibility for solving this. Offer re-training on tasks so they are fully aware of requirements.

If your employer has an Employee Assistance Programme, suggest the contact them if they are struggling.

Also consider asking them if reducing their hours would help them if they are struggling to cope. If they are taking you for a mug this will make them think.

What you are aiming for is to genuinely try to help them but also make it clear their performance must improve. Keep a record of any 1:2:1 discussions and actions agreed, ideally have a weekly meeting.

HTH