Equip Managers to Improve Poor Performance in a Hybrid Environment

• As organizations move to adopting hybrid work environments, new challenges in managing poor work performance arise. The lack of physical presence and cues in the hybrid workplace makes identifying and addressing performance issues difficult, since previously such conversations would ideally have been held in person.
• Managers will often resort to implementing a performance improvement plan (PIP) before coaching the employee. As a result, PIPs have been misused as the only way for managers to deal with low performance or even to manage someone out of the company.
• Many managers are not trained on addressing low performance in a hybrid work environment and do not have a process for performance improvement in place to help them understand how best to do this.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

• There is no one set way to improving low performance, as each case is different. Giving managers a clear process allows them to take the steps necessary to catch and appropriately address performance issues early.
• When managing employees who are working remotely or in a hybrid situation, it's important for managers to be alert to noticing signs of low employee performance and to check in with employees on a regular basis. This enables them to identify and work with their employee on addressing performance issues as they arise, rather than when it's too late.

Impact and Result

• Organizations need to have a clear process for improving performance for employees working in a hybrid environment.
• Ensure that managers are taking the correct and necessary steps prior to deploying formal performance improvement tools, such as PIPs.
• Provide managers with the training and resources necessary to help them identify employee performance issues, uncover root causes, hold performance conversations, set strategies and action steps for improvement, and provide ongoing feedback and coaching.