Dealing with a newcomer's poor performance
Featured in the Managing the Poor Performer training manual
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Category: Performance Management
Credit price: 3 download credits (Single user)
When a new member is recruited to the team or workgroup, it is only natural that we expect them to perform well; after all, they have just been through all those recruitment tests and interviews. So, we just ‘leave them to it’, and, later, say after a couple of months, when their performance is not what we expected, we blame them. But it is nearly always our fault, or, more likely, the manager’s. New people need looking after. They need careful introductions to ‘the way we do things around here’, to the things we hold dear, and to our values, our style and our ‘culture’. Above all they need training in the particular way their job should be handled. They need to have clear objectives and standards that must be achieved, and they need to know what constraints will be applied if these standards are not met.
The training activity opens with the participants considering the neglected newcomer who, because of the neglect, starts to under perform. They then perform a role play. The role play is a monologue, by a volunteer, that a newcomer might make about their situation at work, with a few other participants in a supporting role. The rest of the participants take notes during the monologue and then divide into two groups, one of which decides how the situation could have been prevented, the other how to take the situation forward. These groups then present their findings and look at how to set about choosing a way forward in terms of the need for training or coaching or the setting of objectives. This leads on to a discussion about different approaches to fulfilling a training need, and how to take things forward from the present situation by identifying the most appropriate technique from training, counselling, coaching or teaching. A brief summary emphasising three key points closes the training activity.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to enable participants to identify the part management plays in the under performance of a new member of the workgroup using role play and the coaching matrix.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 20 |
| Typical Duration: | 01:40:00 |
| No of Pages: | 19 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers with line managers to help participants learn how to manage the poor performer, help in induction and recruitment and about first-line management.
Download the training activity, Dealing with a newcomer's poor performance as featured in the Fenman training manual; Managing the Poor Performer