TAKE METICULOUS CARE WHEN DEALING WITH POOR PERFORMANCE

How does an employer deal with poor performance on an employee?

The first step is to hold a meeting or counseling session (an informal affair) with the employee. You explain where the employee is falling short and what standard is not being met, and discuss the matter fully to see if the reason for the poor performance can be established.

You may uncover a domestic crisis, such as a pending divorce, or a work-related problem, such as a colleague victimizing the employee. The most important is to establish the cause – if you don’t know the cause, you cannot treat the problem. The problem will not go away unless you treat the cause.
Try to find mutual acceptable way of dealing with it – training may be required or you may have to refer the employee to good divorce lawyer.

All proceedings must be recorded in details. These records will be required if you eventually have to be dismiss the employee and the matter is taken up with the Commission for Conciliation., Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
You will have to prove that correct and fair procedures were followed, and you need written records to do this. Remember that in a case of unfair dismissals, the employee only has to prove that a dismissal took place. The employer must prove the fairness of the dismissal.

At the end of counseling session, the employee must be warned of the consequences of failure to improve where such warning is appropriate. Bear in mind that the aim of the counseling session is not to punish employees, but to assist them to recognize and overcome the problem.
There is no rule of thumb regarding how many counseling session are required before dismissal, or how many much assistance or training must be given before dismissal, or demotion to a lower position. This will depend on how many factors such as length of service and extend of employee’s willingness to co-operate.

In the counseling session, you must be specific. It is not acceptable to state that the employee is “not making the grade” or “is not doing the job properly”. The specific problem area must be defined and discussed in details. Be specific about what improvement is needed, what standard are required, in what area and by when.

The counseling process is termed” evaluation, instruction, training or guidance”. If the matter comes to dismissal, then the Code of Good Practice; Dismissal must be applied, as well as your own procedures, if any.
You are obliged to consider whether the employee did in fact fail to meet a performance standard, if he or she could reasonably be expected to have been aware of the required standard and whether fair opportunity was given to the employee to meet the required standard. Most importantly , you must assess whether dismissal is an appropriate (and perhaps the only available) sanction under the circumstances of the case.

Generally speaking, you should spend as much time as is reasonably expected all reasonable opportunity to rectify the matter.
Obviously, if the poor performance is causing major operational problems, you will have to inform the employee that he has only limited amount of time to rectify the matter before further action been taken against him / her..