Solving Performance Problems: Accountability And Responsibility In The Workplace

Perhaps you've recently been promoted to supervisor — or maybe you've been at it a while. In many cases, supervisors are never given significant training in solving performance problems. While we all believe in accountability and responsibility in the workplace, how to go about it raises a lot of questions.

Do your supervisors often find themselves dealing with the same performance problem over and over: excessive absences, tardiness, failure to follow procedures, failure to follow through and complete tasks, failure to meet deadlines, lack of attention to details? Supervisors get frustrated because the employee knows what to do and how to do it – but still the problem persists.

Furthermore, high-performing employees often feel extremely de-motivated seeing repeated poor performance that is not addressed by the supervisor. So the poor performer infects the workplace with low morale, and harms the performance of good workers.

Solving performance problems means that the supervisor needs to learn to have a different kind of conversation – straight talk about personal accountability and responsibility in the workplace. Surveys show that supervisors consider this the most difficult conversation to have.  Building both the skills and the confidence of supervisors to have effective straight talk conversation helps you achieve important benefits:

• Less time spent having the same conversation over and over
• Improved performance by the entire group
• Fewer behavioral problems
• Ensuring that highly motivated employees stay highly motivated
• A culture of accountability and responsibility in the workplace
• Lasting solutions to persistent problems
• A sense of fairness
• Greater commitment to Company goals and values

Solving Performance Problems Training highlights:

• Why performance problems persist – why some employees won’t do what they’re asked
• The supervisor’s role in building a culture of accountability and responsibility in the workplace
• How to prepare for and follow a Path for the Straight Talk conversation
• How to make sure you talk objectively but firmly and avoid personalizing the problem
• How to address “attitude problems”
• How to get them to acknowledge the problem
• How to ask “impact” questions to get them to own responsibility
• How to put the burden on employees to come up with solutions to the problem
• How to get them to commit to a plan of action to correct the problem
• How to follow up to ensure a lasting solution

Solving Performance Problems Methodology

Participants in Solving Performance Problems spend most of their workshop time in customized, hands-on practices applying the tools and skills, with coaching and feedback. They bring their own real situations to use in the practice sessions.

Solving Performance Problems Customized Solutions

To ensure that training is not just an “event,” but instead produces enduring results, we customize Solving Performance Problems to fit your unique situation, business strategy, culture, and people.  After discussion with you and other experts within your organization, we select the emphasis, specific skills to be developed, key learning points, exercises, and case studies for practice to create a solution tailored just for you.

Solving Performance Problems Applications

The following are some of the ways our clients have used custom versions of Solving Performance Problems:

• To dramatically improve results by solving persistent performance problems and producing lasting solutions
• To create a culture of personal accountability and responsibility in the workplace
• To prepare team leads for roles as first line supervisors.
• To sharply cut waste and re-work
• To create a “coaching” environment where employees learn to perform more successfully

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