Any Answers (back to index)

Why is Poor Performance not on the HR Agenda?

Posted by Anthony Dance on Tue, 22/11/2011 - 11:01

Both private and public sector employers share the same problem:

- Line managers are not addressing poor performing employees.

- Middle managers are not addressing poor performing line managers.

- Seniormanagers/executives are not addressing poor performing middle mangers.

Because of this many employers have developed an organisational Culture where Poor performance is being accepted rather tha good performance being expected.

This has been an issue in industry for a long time and a problem that is very much on the Governments agenda.

But the questiuon is this; why is this critically important subject not on the HR agenda? This site is full of comments and discussions relating to engagement, diversity, talent, equality etc. but very little on poor performance.

Is it because HR feel that it is not their responsibility, it is a mangement problem not a HR one? Is it because the subject is not sexy enough or is it realy because poor performance is not as clear-cut as gross-misconduct and because of this HR advisors do not realy know what to do or advise?

There is an excellant comment from Ann Burley re: any answers question 3rd November - Termination of Employment Contract which many readers may have missed. Her comment:

"HR Advisors will tell you what you cannot do whereas HR Business Partners will tell you what you can do" could be right on the nail and worthy of more debate.

It is easy to blame bad mangement for the big problem we have today but is the root cause 'discouragement' rather than 'encouragement' from the HR/Legal people who advise them?

 

 

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Editor's Note - May 10

Had a busy week with two days at the Responsible Business Summit in London. What struck me was the appetite for sustainability in the corporate world. I spoke to senior figures from multinationals who knew wholeheartedly that businesses in the future would not succeed if the society around them failed.

Much of this appetite was understandably focused on collaboration - the future of sustainability. Words that were previously indicative of success - power, might, scale, size - are no longer enough in the open source, peer-reviewed future where opponents will not simply grumble and moan and then leave you in peace. Companies must work with governments, NGOs, charities and social enterprises as a matter of course. And even competitors, where necessary.

Facilitating this collaboration is the big challenge of the next five years. Highly-strung and ego-centric companies, feverish with the need to protect their brand, will struggle the most, but it's either adapt or die.

The business/charity relationship is one of the most interesting focal points. Business power can drive positive social change in so many ways but charities are the key holders to communities. As businesses are expected more and more to play a stake in the future, charity partnerships should be top of the corporate priority list. Businesses that don't work closely with a charity will find themselves with reputational problems.

There's a lot more to CSR, of course, but collaboration is the bedding on which CSR will rest. Businesses can no longer find the answers to all their problems in their own resources and assets.

And for many that's a scary thought.

Any thoughts, thoughts or questions, drop me a line on editor@hrzone.co.uk.

Best wishes

Jamie

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