Regaining control: how to bring performance back up to scratch
 Taking over an underperforming team is one of the hardest things a manager can do. The team will often have found ways of bucking the system and establishing working practices and procedures that are designed to actively restrict work and reduce productivity. These will need to be unpicked and rebuilt, often resulting in great upheaval, sometimes in open revolt.
For some the way of achieving this is to take the softly-softly approach, taking time to win over people and build up relationships. That may have a place, but quite often the underperformance can be so damaging to the business that more immediate action needs to be taken.
In these circumstances the direct approach may indeed be necessary. Objectives and outcomes must be restated in absolute clarity, and the consequences of failing to perform must also be made clear. At this point absolute self-confidence is essential as any doubt will play into the hands of those who want failure and things to go back to the way they were.
Any resetting of objectives has to be followed up with effective performance management. Individual objectives have to be set, fairly and in the context of the overall objectives of the team. Poor performing teams often have individuals who have personal objectives set that aren't in line with what the team is expected to do, but have the effect of making them seem busy and needed. If it doesn't contribute to the team's goals it has to be descoped and removed.
Another common technique to avoid work (or the consequences of it) is to claim that more training is required. This needs to be handled with care, but a review of past training records will often reveal whether this is a valid claim. If it is it has to be dealt with quickly, even if that means setting up special sessions for individuals or teams. It sends a clear message that the underperformance is being taken seriously and that measures will be taken to support the team in meeting their goals.
Constant monitoring of performance and feedback on that performance is then essential. Daily buzz sessions, one-to-one meetings, formal team sessions, these are all tools that the manager must use to communicate performance and reinforce the objectives that have been set. And that golden rule of praise in public and punish in private has to be adhered to.
It is almost certain that people will go: some voluntarily through a decision they do not want to work in the new regime, others because their performance doesn't come up to scratch. Whichever way it works those who are no longer a part of the team must be removed quickly, even if, in the short term at least, it costs the company money in compensation. And the desire to hold onto "good people" has to be resisted if that person has turned out to be an underperforming one.
What should emerge from this is a better performing team: one that is more focussed on the aims of the business; more competent; and - if the manager has done their job properly - behaving much more as one team. As the team passes through the storm and settles into its new form some managers choose to reset their expectations again, loosening the reigns a little and allowing the team some space to breathe. Others prefer to keep up the pressure. There is no right or wrong style, only the style that the manager and their new team are collectively comfortable with.
Of course this can be a painful exercise and it requires grit, determination and commitment to stick with it. Any manager put into this position should have a clear plan for what they expect to do and the proof points along the way that demonstrate they are doing it. Simply walking into an underperforming team without some framework for driving their performance forwards is asking for trouble and - ultimately - failure.
Senior management also have to be prepared for what is coming, and have to be sure that the messages they communicate support the manager they have put in place to sort the problems out. If team members feel they can bypass their line management and obtain a more "sympathetic" ear higher up the ladder it will undermine what is trying to be achieved and again failure will be the end result.
Most firms have underperforming teams. Sometimes all that is required is a firm kick and a reminder of what's expected. Othertimes more radical action is required. If you go down the latter route make sure the manager you put in place has a plan, the self-confidence to carry it through and your complete support. Without it change will not happen.
Previously on this blog...
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