Skill and will is the answer - what's the question?

The question of staff performance management boils down to 3 simple questions:

Knowledge: Do they know what to do?

Skill: Do they know how to do it?

Will: Do they want to do it?

"As a leader you must understand the needs in individuals and how they operate, so that you can work with the grain of human nature and not against it" – Professor John Adair

Time needs to be spent to address under performance so that staff fulfill their potential.

Some suggestions to help include:

Find the reason for under-performance allows the manager to tackle the problem (not the symptom)
Set clear objectives and give unambiguous feedback regularly on staff performance
Give behavioural feedback on what has been observed and how it doesn’t match up to the standard required. Stressing the effect of the behaviour can also be influential
Encourage and motivate the individual. Perhaps a change of managerial style might produce better results
Look for signs indicating bullying or harassment, or perhaps problems at home. Unless the manager really listens, solutions may never be found
Offer extra coaching if required. It could be that they need a confidence boost or perhaps have difficulty with stress
Adjust workloads/add variety/delegate extra duties to build self esteem. Beware that it’s not seen as a reward for under-performance
Adjust the way in which the work is done to improve systems/processes
Transfer staff member to another department/job. Again a risk of the action being seen as a reward for under-performance
Where the performance gap is large, performance counselling may help – an informal meeting booked in advance in a quiet area away from the normal workspace
Consider disciplinary action