Dealing with Marginal Performers: The Therapeutic Approach

--PREPARATION: The purpose of the therapeutic approach is to spark an employee toward improved performance through counseling. The manager's goal is to help the employee recognize the existence of a problem, accept the need for change, and formulate his or her own program for improvement. The manager should critically assess his or her own attitudes and opinions. It is important to try to eliminate all personal bias and prejudice or at least be aware of any such emotions no matter how little effect they seem to be having. For the most positive results, the manager should be noncritical or at least noncommittal toward the marginal performer. In addition, the interview should be conducted in private, without interruptions, and with adequate time.

--SETTING A COMFORTABLE ATMOSPHERE: The employee should be made to feel relaxed and at ease. It is particularly important that no mental anguish is spent in guessing the interview's purpose. It is not necessary for the manager to "build the employee up" with praise about favorable performance but it is desirable that the atmosphere is friendly and constructive.

-- STIMULATING SELF-APPRAISAL: The simplest, most forthright tactic is to explain to the employee that there are problem areas. Elicit self-analysis from employees about their jobs, particularly focusing on those areas where they feel that their performance could be improved. Once employees begin discussing unsatisfactory performance - or at least elaborating on problems they are encountering on the job - the manager can pursue the problem areas. Asking, rather than telling the employee, becomes the key to an effective discussion. Through these questions, the manager keeps the employees on the subject and gets them to suggest ideas on improving performance.

-- STIMULATING SELF-SUGGESTION: Once the employee has begun to make positive suggestions, the manager should encourage exploration of these ideas in detail to determine which ones will be most useful for self-improvement. The manager should interfere as little as possible in the employee's self-evaluation. Offering suggestions to the employee will likely negate the whole process. The employee's defense mechanisms are always lingering in the background, and they may surface the minute the manager begins to press the employee into following a course of action, thereby defeating the purpose of the therapeutic counseling interview.

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CEO, A.E. Schwartz & Associates, Boston, MA., a comprehensive organization which offers over 40 skills based management training programs. Mr. Schwartz conducts over 150 programs annually for clients in industry, research, technology, government, Fortune 100/500 companies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. He is often found at conferences as a key note presenter and/or facilitator. His style is fast-paced, participatory, practical, and humorous. He has authored over 65 books and products, and taught/lectured at over a dozen colleges and universities throughout the United States.