Advise from other team managers.

Anonymous

July 8,2022 at 12:17PM UTC

Welcome to Fairygodboss!

We’re the largest online career community helping women achieve their career goals. Gain access to articles, jobs, events, and a supportive network of women and allies. Membership is free, always.

Advise from team managers.

I run a customer success team. One of our reps missed their KPIs badly last quarter. They were less than halfway to goal.

As I evaluate their performance I am left feeling that they have difficulty adapting to changes and that their critical thinking skills aren't as high. When I speak to other managers and some of their team mates I am getting similar feedback.

According to our policy, if they miss their KPIs again this quarter they'll be terminated. How do I balance trying to help them make improvements with the needs of the team as a whole?

Why women love us:

Daily articles on career topics
Jobs at companies dedicated to hiring more women
Advice and support from an authentic community
Events that help you level up in your career
Free membership, always

11 comments

Share your insight

Join an authentic community that helps women support each other at work. Share your professional experience or ask for advice — you can even post anonymously.

11 Comments

Join the conversation

AnonymousJuly 8,2022 at 1:00PM UTC
Have you spoken to the individual and addressed the moments of low performance to understand the root cause ? Is it fixable ? Would love ton know more before providing a response .
AnonymousJuly 8,2022 at 1:39PM UTC
O.P. - I have had conversations with them in the past about adapting to the changes including a series of conversations after some negative feedback from a customer who felt the rep was very unprepared for a presentation they gave.
I haven't had a conversation with them since the quarter ended as they have been out of the office.
When I do speak with them, should I approach the conversation sternly or more mildly?
Heather CutlerJuly 8,2022 at 10:18PM UTC
Don’t get too hung up on tone but rather focus on a frank discussion about missing KPI’s and the consequences if this happens a second time. I’d also encourage you to not beat around the bush that termination is a possibility of improvement isn’t seen. This conversation will be uncomfortable…for both of you so the biggest gift you can give as a supervisor is to speak candidly about the gravity of this situation. Best of luck.
Heather CutlerJuly 8,2022 at 10:20PM UTC
Also, I’d strongly recommend that you speak to this person immediately upon their return. Don’t let it fester and most def don’t delay this conversation.
AnonymousJuly 8,2022 at 1:44PM UTC
I think its hard and I have been in this situation many times. Basically its the situation any manager ends up in inevitably over the course of their career. If you let a low performing individual stay, then you will miss your team goals and the remaining members will be hurt by it. I think you can focus on trying to getting them to be successful but not at the detriment of hurting the greater team whom you also have a responsibility towards. Increased communication, sitting down with the underperforming individual to try to coach them, assist them, train them, help them are all things you can do but only up to a point. Towards the end of the quarter, if they are still not tracking to their KPIs, then the most humane thing to do is to let them know that its an objective policy and that they should probably find a better fit elsewhere...
Joshua CorderoJuly 8,2022 at 2:33PM UTC
O.P.: thanks for the feedback.
AnonymousJuly 8,2022 at 1:49PM UTC
You don't wait for the quarter to get them on an improvement plan. That's never fair. If you've supported them during the period and they still haven't improved, then it's time to move them out.
AnonymousJuly 8,2022 at 2:33PM UTC
O.P.: thanks for the feedback.
Barbara NegronJuly 8,2022 at 5:15PM UTC
In my past experience what I traditionally do is have regular one on one meetings. We develop an action plan together to support them to get where they need to be. I also communicate with them honestly that termination is a possibility if they are unable to meet the KPI's. As their leader I guide them but give them the ownership and responsibility to come up with actionable items. I also assist them in identifying a mentor that can assist them with their critical thinking skills. I find that if you give them all the possible tools to be successful and they are not able to succeed they may not be the right fit for the position.
AnonymousJuly 8,2022 at 6:16PM UTC
Have you considered sending them back to training? Can you assign them a technical lead to take a closer look at their performance and mentor them through their calls for improvement?
AnonymousJuly 8,2022 at 10:49PM UTC
I'm sure they are feeling bad about not meeting their numbers as well. This is how I would approach this - If they are a good person who might thrive in another type of role within the organization, have an honest conversation with them about moving on internally, If there aren't roles for this person, I would still have the empathetic conversation that "I'm sure this feels bad for you to not meet your goals. We've tried XYZ and it hasn't helped, what else can we do to bring your performance up/what do you need from me? because this is not moving in a direction where we can keep you in this role." I'm not sure how your company handles terms but if you have the opportunity to offer external job search support/small severance etc., then I would treat this person like a fully formed adult and present them with the facts and let them self-select out. Good luck!