As the supervisor of the employee, the first step is to talk with the employee. Since the employee used to perform well on the job, there must be a reason why there is a sudden change. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to talk to the employee and determine the cause of the poor performance. The possible issues that can be looked upon are the lack of training for the job, lack of motivation, employee "burn out," or other causes such as personal problems or conflicts with other co-workers. The impact and consequences on the company of the employee’s poor performance must be explained to him. After determining the cause of the poor performance, as supervisor one can assist the employee to do something about the cause and explore possible solutions. As supervisor, one must boost the morale of the employee and show him that one believes in him because previously he was able to do his job well.
As HR Manager, one can first talk with the supervisor of the problem employee so they can discuss the steps which they have to take. The HR manager can give a verbal warning to the employee that he has to perform according to the requirements of his job. A written Opportunity To Improve (OTI) may be given to the employee to inform him what is considered as acceptable performance. After the OTI period, an assessment of the employee should be done to see if the performance has improved. If the assessment shows that the employee still has not performed to par, then as HR Manager, one has to decide whether to reassign, demote, or remove the employee. A written formal advice should be given by the HR Manager to the employee about the decision.
All the steps to be taken by both the supervisor and the HR Manager should be in accordance with the company’s rules and the labor laws governing the said circumstance.
References
Gopal, P., & Gopal, H. (2005). How to turn a difficult employee into a star. Retrieved from visionary-management.com: http://www.visionary-management.com/turn_difficult_employee.pdf
United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency. (2013). How do I deal with an employee's unacceptable performance? Retrieved from fsa.usda.gov: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/hrdapp?area=home&subject=mgrs&topic=dup
