It is a tough world out there and unfortunately many individuals think a lot more of their skills than they are really worth. In most cases, it is not their fault as their shortcomings have been overlooked so as not to hurt anyones feelings, but in reality by not being upfront and honest with them about their performance, they simply do not know any better.



The majority of employees simply want three things out of their job. Fair pay, training for the job they are expected to perform and feedback about how well they are doing their job. Evaluating someones job performance can be a stressful experience not only for the employee but also for the business owner or supervisor. If performance reviews are given annually, there should be no surprises at the end of the day. Consistent communication throughout the year should have provided the employee with specific things they need to do better so when evaluation day rolls around they have a good idea of what to expect.

If the supervisor goes the entire year without offering any corrective measures needed, or praise for doing a good job, the employee is going to believe they are performing at least up to expected standards. If they walk into an evaluation and find out you are not happy with their work, you will drastically undercut their morale. They have gone a year not knowing if they were underperforming or overachieving and waiting until the last minute is not going to do much for employee retention.

That is not to say you need to sit down with the employee every month, or even every quarter, but if an issues comes up it should be addressed immediately. Yelling and screaming is never the right way to handle an employee discipline issue, but sitting with the employee in a private setting, where their co-workers can not see or hear what is going on, explain how the associates behavior, attitude, productivity or whatever the issue is affecting the company as a whole.

The supervisor should never attack a person with phrases beginning with the word you. Instead, all problems need to be addressed by focusing on the problem and not the person. When it comes to offering praise or thank you, those should be done in front of their peers, and as often as it is deserved. Over praising one employee may make others believe they are the favorite and can spark charges of favoritism.

Bad behavior breeds bad behavior and you have one employee that is constantly slacking off or late for work and nothing is done, not only will that employee believe their behavior is acceptable, other employees, who may have never had a problem, will begin to resent the person getting away with their actions, blaming you for allowing them to get away with it and themselves for continuing to do their best with no apparent rewards. All of your employees need to know that anything that affects the business negatively will result in consequences to equal the affect on the business.