Have you ever given an employee or contractor a second chance? Opportunity for a more efficient working relationship, or recipe for disaster?
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Feb 5, 2014
Ignoring a staff person’s poor performance creates problems that affect more than that person’s work. It often has a negative effect on staff morale.
Many organizations reluctantly retain poor performers. If you stop to realize how many of your resources are consumed by dealing with a troubled employee, you’ll likely raise your hiring standards.
In the long run, it’s best to deal quickly and directly with poor performance. After all, by failing to do so, you’re sending the message that poor work is acceptable, and that may be a great disservice to the poor performer.
For guidance on whether you’re addressing the problem, candidly answer the following questions:
Does your staff know what is expected of them on a monthly basis?
Do you have a way to monitor individual performance?
Does your compensation system encourage and reward performance?
Aug 14, 2013
First question I ask....is there an integrity issue? If so...adios. If not, I will sit down and have a professional conversation with the person. As far as being "trainable", I don't understand fully what this means, but if you mean can you change him/her what are the benefits for taking on a responsibility that is not yours?
Aug 8, 2013
Early in my business, I gave second chances because I felt it was a learning opportunity for me to learn how to manage people better. I cannot sincerely think of one situation where giving a second chance worked out well. It's an employee's/ contractor's job to learn the work culture/communication style and adapt accordingly. My spidey senses tell me your time is probably better spent finding another person or solution.
Aug 8, 2013
I learnt an important lesson from a former manager many years ago. After an incident involving a contractor who had 'breached' its contract I was all for termination of the contract. My manager called the MD of the contractor in for a meeting and his first words were " Lets begin with a simple question, do you want this relationship to work? If we both answer yes then lets work on an acceptable solution to both parties. If the answer is no from either of us, then lets draw up an exit strategy." I have used this approach many times since and it work well as it uses honesty and partnership to determine the appropriate answer to the problem and avoids wasting time and money.
Aug 9, 2013
We seem fairly evenly weighted between positive and negative experiences. Thanks for sharing yours.
Aug 8, 2013
I think this really depends on the infraction. If this is miscommunication, you might be just as much as fault. Poor communication rarely comes from just one side. Even if this person doesn't work out, it would be a good indication to formalize your process and communication structure.
If the problem is attitude with internal staff, you may have more of an issue. Again, this is really tough to give advice on without having some idea of what we are talking about. A moderate infraction to you may be a mild one to someone else or vice versa.
Aug 8, 2013
Just make sure you are not confusing "communication and work styles" with incompetency or personality clash. If it is either one then I would cut the cord. If not (and only you can be the judge of that) then you have an opportunity for a more efficient work relationship.
Aug 8, 2013
Yes, I agree, and part of the challenge is to decide whether I think the differing communication style was actually masking incompetency. That's exactly where the fear of making the wrong decision lies. I don't want to cut someone off who deserves development, but can only have the best people in front of clients.
Aug 8, 2013
It's all about Attitude and Aptitude....you can enhance aptitude and they have to fix attitude.
Aug 7, 2013
The few time I have gone the "second chance" route it has resulted in a mess bigger than the one that inspired the decision the first time.
A decision to terminate a relationship (employee, contractor, vendor, etc.) is usually driven by a pattern of behavior. People can change with conscious concerted effort, but the "natural" state (poor sales, a hot-headed emotional response, etc.) is going to eventually return in times of stress.
A last thought: Think beyond your and the employee/contractor to who else is impacted. If you have a crummy sales rep you are letting your customers down by giving that rep another chance. Put your effort into finding someone that amazes them and is a better partner to you.
Good luck!
Aug 7, 2013
Yes! Depending on the circumstances. It is usually a communication break down that involves all parties that started the problem in the first place.
I have had positive results in using the same contractors after a so called "Issue"
Aug 5, 2013
Depends on what happened during the first chance.Figure out why they want to return.
Expect repeat performance. Over time, the offending act may repeat.
Aug 5, 2013
Totally dependent on what went wrong the first time.
If a small "mental error and core behavior is and has always been good it can lead to an opportunity for a more efficient relationship.
Aug 5, 2013
It is an opportunity for a more efficient working relationship. Everyone can have a bad day once. Over time they will have a better time. You must look at the issue that required a second chance. If the issue is minor then given them a second chance and you'll be more efficient with your working relationship.
Aug 5, 2013
I was considering that it could be an opportunity to set strong procedures and expectations, but feared it I was being naive and it was more of a 'fool me once' scenario. The issue was in the low-moderate range, but there are promises of a great new collaborative mindset so I'm also thinking it's a way to recapture and gain a benefit from the time spent previously. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Valuable insight - thanks!