Effectively Implementing a Performance Development Plan for Underperformers (PDP)

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Effectively Implementing a Performance
Development Plan for Underperformers (PDP)

• West Chester University
• Human Resources Labor Relations Unit and Office
  of Organizational Development
• Fall 2006

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Purpose of Performance Development Plan (PDP)

• Implement a Performance Development Plan (PDP)
  when
• A supervisor gave an employee a less than
  satisfactory probationary, interim or annual
  evaluation.
• A supervisor has supportive documentation of an
  employees pattern of poor behavior/performance.
• A supervisor wants to enhance performance or
  develop their employees.
• This tutorial assists those who find themselves
  in the first two situations.

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Top Five Reasons Underperformers Exist

• Front line managers and supervisors do not have
  effective supervisory skills.
• Managers and supervisors are not supported by
  their leaders.
• Poor hiring practices.
• Lack of support from human resources.
• Underutilized performance management tools and
  processes.

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Stop and Think Before You Speak or Take Action

• Analyze the Behavior Problem
• Describe the employees performanceActually
  write it down objectively and specifically what
  has been observed.
• Stating an employee has a bad attitude is not
  describing a behavior.
• Stating an employee does not make eye contact
  when someone is talking to them, comes to work
  late five-ten minutes every day and complains
  constantly to other employees does describe the
  behavior.
• Identify its cost and/or lossSick time payments,
  cost of errors, low productivity, workers
  compensation costs, team morale, excessive time
  demands on manager
• As long as the behavior is not counterproductive
  to the organizations mission, sometimes
  irritating behaviors should be tolerated if there
  is little cost. .

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Analyze Look Inside Yourself

• 1. Does the employee have and understand his job
  duties and standards expectations of performing
  the job?
• 2. Has the employee been properly trained to
  perform the duties? How and when?
• 3. Does the employee have the necessary
  work-related resources to perform the assigned
  duties? What are the needed resources? Does the
  employee use them?
• 4. Are there unusual circumstances in the
  workplace that are contributing to the problem?
  What are they? are they short or long term
  circumstances?

• Ask Yourself the Following Seven Questions
• If you cannot answer yes and provide
  documentation that supports your answer, you are
  not ready to implement a PDP.
• Contact HR Labor Relations to discuss in
  further detail.

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Analyze Look Inside Yourself (continued)

• 5. Have clear expectations for improvement
  been made known to the employee? What are they
  and how were they communicated?
• 6. Has the employee been more closely supervised
  including the review of work assignments and
  progress? How and how often?
• 7. Has the employee been warned repeatedly about
  the specific performance problem(s)? How did you
  handle and what were the results?

• Ask Yourself the Following Seven Questions
• If you cannot answer yes and provide
  documentation that supports your answer, you are
  not ready to implement a PDP.
• Contact HR Labor Relations to discuss in
  further detail.

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Analyze Look Inside Your Employee

• Ask Yourself the Following Four Questions
• Contact HR Labor Relations to discuss in further
  detail.
• 1. Has the employee ever functioned at
  acceptable levels? If yes, when and for how long?
  Any trends?
• 2. Does the employee have the proper
  qualifications to perform the assigned duties? If
  no, what has been done to develop those
  qualifications?

• 3. Is there something occurring in the
  employees personal life that is creating this
  situation? If yes, is this a short term or
  potentially a long term problem?
• 4. Has the pattern of the performance problem,
  marginal or otherwise, been persistent over time?
  If yes, what are the patterns?

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Performance Development Plan (PDP) Timeline

• When you are thinking about implementing a PDP in
  place, contact the Office of Organizational
  Development at x3380.
• Together, you and your employee will discuss
• Specific Areas to Be Improved
• Actions to Be Taken By Both Employee and
  Supervisor to Assist in Improvement, i.e.,
  supervisor will perform intermittent reviews of
  progress.
• Establish a Timeframe for Improvement
• Explain the Types of Documentation Each (if
  applicable) Will Be Providing to Demonstrate
  Improvement
• Discuss What the Consequences Are If Sufficient
  Improvement is NOT Made.

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Tips to Addressing Poor Performance and Still
Leaving Their Self-Esteem Intact

• Be Direct.
• If you want something done or changed, ask. Avoid
  hints.
• Ban Fault-finding.
• Finding fault can minimize seeking another way to
  solve a problem. Switch from and you did.. to
  Lets look at the facts.
• Stay Focused and Avoid Generalizations.
• Instead, ask for a solution. Move from You
  never to How can I help you to next time?

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Tips to Addressing Poor Performance and Still
Leaving Their Self-Esteem Intact

• Negotiate.
• Instead of demanding, ask What do you need in
  order to handle this differently?
• Realign Priorities.
• Non-performers have different priorities. Make
  sure the employee has the same priorities you
  have. Clarify and show how both of you can
  benefit. Once we get this done, we can talk
  about your idea for

• Say Less.
• Some people resent following orders. Try posting
  itemized goal lists.
• Let it go!
• If you find yourself critiquing employees
  constantly, you may need to reevaluate your
  management style. Are you compensating for other
  problems?

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Qualities of a Coachable Employee

• Willing to Change
• Listens
• Open to Feedback
• Able to Change

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Sample Dialogue to Keep Focused on the Area to be
Improved

• Supervisor What do you need to get the job
  done?
• Employee I have too much to domost of my day is
  spent answering phones and putting out fires
• Supervisor You didnt answer my question. What
  do you need to get the job done?
• Employee Okperhaps better time management and
  organizational skills.
• Supervisor For starters, I want you to read
  Chapter three in Coveys book called Focus and
  attend the Investing in Employee Excellence
  course in time management. Come back to me in
  three days and lets talk about what you learned.

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Not All Employees are Coachable

• What do you do now? You have
• shared the updated job description for the
  position
• created standards
• provided documentation contrary to the set
  standards,
• communicated effectively and clearly,
• done everything possible in trying to help the
  employee be successful, and the employee failed
  to meet the mutual Performance Development Plan.
• With HR assistance, failure to meet each
  expectation by the conclusion of the designated
  timeframe may result in disciplinary action, up
  to and including termination.

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Must Reads

• Contact Training and Organizational Development
  to borrow a copy (dnorris_at_wcupa.edu)
• Ken Blanchard The One Minute Manager
• Roger Fritz Think Like a Manager
• Steven Covey Principle Centered Leadership (CD)
• Steven Pollan Lifescripts for Managers What to
  Say to Get What You Want in Tough Situations
  (with CD-ROM)

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Quotes to Note

• If you dont know where to begin, you dont
  begin. --General George Patton
• Catch people doing something good.
• --Ken Blanchard
• Remember, nothing blocks insight more than your
  own ego. --Mark McCormack

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Human Resources Contacts for the Performance
Development Plan

• Scott Sherman [phone] ssherman_at_wcupa.edu
• Training Organizational Development

• Trish Seningen
• [phone]
• pseningen_at_wcupa.edu
• Labor Relations