Can you create a happy working environment and also performance manage staff?

I was recently asked by a founder how to create an environment where people are happy and proud to work for their organisation, and staff are not working in any sort of fear. They asked how this can be achieved if someone doesn’t fit or are not contributing. There question was specifically looking at performance management and how you manage staff who are not a fit or performing, whilst also not creating any fear for the rest of the workforce.

There is a lot to cover in order to fully answer this question, but one solution, at a basic level, is that you need good management that are fair, open and honest with staff creating trust. This needs to start from day one and be supported from the top. Below are some key pointers.

Good management that are fair, open and honest

The relationship needs to start with a good two-way interview setting the expectations, and then open and honest evaluation and communication of the match to the expectations through-out their employment. For example, Stuart (the candidate) is going for an interview with Sarah (the recruiting manager). Sarah has done good preparation for the interview and explains to Stuart the role, responsibilities, culture of the Company and so on to set a benchmark for Stuart to understand the expectations and assesses Stuart’s suitability appropriately. Stuart is invited to ask questions and participate fully in the interview to best understand if the fit and expectations are right from their perspective.

It’s an ongoing ‘management’ process to create trust

Staff should know their ‘fit and performance’ with the company at any one time. Staff should be aware of any misalignment with expectations and given a fair chance to resolve the issue, nothing should be a surprise. For example, Sarah should give frequent feedback to Stuart on performance and fit against the benchmark discussed at the interview, and also discuss any changes to the expectations. In giving frequent honest feedback staff should trust that at any time they understand their position within the Company and feel secure in that fact. This should help with the ‘what about me’ question that staff sometimes feel when a colleague is undergoing a work-related process. Also, each staff member should have the trust in their management to approach them if they are feeling unsettled in anyway, this open dialogue should help resolve quickly any concerns staff have.

Managers need to ‘manage’ staff issues, so they don’t demotivate others

Equally, staff who are a good fit and who are performing well can get very demotivated if performance or fit issues are overlooked and not dealt with by management in a fair way. For example, Amy (a good performer) notices that Stuart is late every day and Sarah does nothing about it, also Amy picks up the extra work that Stuart does not achieve.

Months later it is even worse, Stuart is very late, and Amy resigns because of the extra work and unfair treatment. For Sarah it’s the straw that breaks the camels back, and Sarah pulls Stuart into a meeting that is not handled appropriately, and Stuart is not given the support he needs because Sarah is emotional and at the end of her tether. This situation is seen time and time again and is generally visible to many staff. If Sarah had a private open conversation with Stuart from the beginning to understand the lateness and support, if possible, but ultimately manage the situation fairly, then there was a good opportunity to create trust with Amy, but also manage the problem with Stuart.

Therefore, managing these processes fairly will help staff gain trust in the management, thus reinforcing a happy environment.

Next steps:

At a more complex level there is a lot of ground to cover to get this into place, for example, the company needs to be clear on their expectations, this would include the values which underpins the culture, the competencies, skills and experience required of staff and so on. The Company would need to review or create it’s horizontal and vertical HR processes to align to this goal.

Whilst the answer above is only part of the solution, having strong management is an important part of staff happiness in the workplace.

If you would like to discuss this further, or if it sparks other HR related questions then please get in contact with Maria at Jelca HR https://www.jelcahr.co.uk/.