No one likes to point out to those who report to you that they are doing sub-standard work, making mistakes or not meeting expectations. However, it is a very crucial part of the responsibility of managing people and getting results. To properly address poor performance it is important to figure out what’s causing performance issues and the lack of meeting expectations. You have to get to the root of the problem. Employee performance affects organizational performance. There is generally no quick fix.

Questions to be answered are: Is the person a good fit for the position? Does the person possess the skills to do the job? Is additional training needed? Should the person be placed in another role? To find solutions the focus has to be on the ability or lack thereof of the person performing the job. Performance is a function of both ability and motivation. There are many examples of employees who have the experience and expertise to do the job but lack motivation.

Ability involves the person’s aptitude, including training and resources provided by the organization. Motivation involves the person’s attitude and is a product of desire and commitment. These are the reasons the recruitment and hiring process are so critical for success. Analyzing candidates who are applicants and trying to determine their propensity for success on the job is a science and an art. it is expensive to make bad hiring decisions. When people don’t work out as planned, loss of time, operational or customer service suffers, others on the team are negatively affected.

Offering training on the job and in a formal training environment is important, but small businesses generally do not have training departments and most training is “OJT.” A lack of discipline is prevalent in management to address poor performance in a timely manner. A lack of differentiation between high performers and low performers results in demotivation on the part of the high performing group on which you must depend to deliver. Poor performers should not receive the same privileges, compensation and opportunities as high performers. Once you have exhausted every avenue to coach and get the low performer on track you have to face the difficult task of terminating the employee or finding another job in the organization that they would be a better fit where they have a good chance to succeed.

In some situations it may be more difficult to assess issues but it can be done. It is important to document in writing and hold discussions with the employee openly discussing the shortcomings. Do not delay as problems do not go away or solve themselves. It will inevitably get worse when not addressed.

When it comes to sales positions it is easier to determine whether the person is meeting goals. An analogy of sales people can be made with animals, i.e. lions, horses and dogs.

Lions rule the jungle, and they know it. They are internally driven, strong and dominant. Sales people who are lions need to be monitored, rewarded and managed very differently from horses and dogs. They should be stroked but left alone to develop their sales process. They thrive on positive feedback as long as it doesn’t impede their style and drive.

Horses, on the other hand need to be ridden. They are capable but not self-driven enough to achieve lion results. They need management, encouragement, support in order to reach their potential. Frequent coaching is important to horses so you can get them to the “gallop” pace they are capable of.

And then there are the dogs. Every organization has them, and we all know who they are. Managers are often reluctant to “shoot the dogs,” i.e.let them go, even though all other means to motivate have been exhausted. Poor performers deserve every chance to succeed including special attention, training and coaching. But when they do not respond and perform up to expectations it is not fair to treat them like the horses or lions. They should not have to carry the dogs on their backs. Face up to the task and cut your losses.

The epitome of performers are the legendary unicorns. They are even better than the lions, because they can fly. You don’t have many but when you have one on your staff you know it. Unicorns sell more services to customers than anyone else. They convert prospects to customers consistently. These unicorns are rare and hard to find, but when you do they inspire all of us.

Resources are scarce and meeting expectations and goals are necessary to be successful in any kind of business. Ensure you are rewarding your top performers well and addressing the low performing people on your staff. Both are necessary in the competitive environment in the business world today.

Becky Vaughn-Furlow retired from Trustmark Bank as executive vice president and human resources director. She can be contacted by emailing bvaughnfurlow@gmail.com.