What do you do when you are managing someone who underdelivers and always offers excuses? Managing an unreliable employee can be frustrating, and you may be tempted to give up on them.
However, Harvard Business Review offers the following steps to help an unreliable employee get back on track.
- Start with the basics. Clarify goals and connect them to the company’s broader purpose. Talk about good, bad and unacceptable outcomes; once you both agree on clear objectives and expectations, you can hold the employee accountable and provide specific feedback if he or she does not deliver acceptable results.
- Get aligned on process. Give a detailed description about the steps required to adequately complete their work, such as a tutorial of the workflow. Field any questions early so they will not be able to use the lack of information as a future excuse.
- Clarify what is at stake. If you think it is a motivation issue, explain that successfully delivering work will lead to positive outcomes, such as opening future opportunities, and failing to do so will have the opposite effect.
