HR Pulse

Why do we tolerate incompetence?

Low levels of performance, high absenteeism rates or a disconnect between company values and employee attitudes are venom that, once it has diffused through the organisation’s arteries, will softly kill the spirit needed to achieve and sustain world-class standards. By remaining silent, we pardon this incompetence - displayed by certain employees - by default.

In the past, I too have made the mistake of not paying enough attention to teams who have to compensate for the deficiencies of problem employees!
 
Have you considered this scary truth?

It is not the best performer who establishes the standard of performance.

It is the poorest performer who is tolerated that sets the standards.

6 reasons why we are reluctant to take action against incompetent employees

1.    It is human nature to avoid conflict

Within each of us lies the need for acceptance. Every conflict holds the potential for emotional disconnection and separation.

Not many of us will admit it, and indeed we may not even be aware of it, but our management style is constantly experiencing the inner conflict between sentiments and rationality. Balancing logic and emotion to keep our decisions objective is a management skill, but also does not neglect the merits of each case. Different situations could call for more of one or the other.

2.     We hope the problem will go away, if we ignore it.

When I ignore a problem, I rarely solve it. Instead, I reinforce the wall between the underperforming employee and myself, and delay the solution. Reflecting on the reasons for, or even the presence of, denial requires a merciless look within.

I have found it helpful to play through the scenarios of what could go wrong and to keep asking myself, “And then what?” Doing this brings our fears to the surface and tests their validity. Often, the fear is not justified and we free up mental energy, which breaks the deadlock and propels the process forward again.  

3.     We don’t have any time

“I can’t deal with this right now. Clients and shareholders need my attention. I only have so much time to satisfy everyone.”

This I often hear, and yes, I have thought this myself. On examination, however, it is less often about time and more often about priority. When the problem has escalated, it moves up the priority ranks in any case and demands attention eventually. Then even more of the time we had hoped to save has been wasted.   

4.    We don’t want to risk the employee refusing to “leave silently”

“A scene is the last thing I need in the company right now,” we lament and the underperformer goes on until we find the appropriate place and time, which never seems to arrive by itself.  Meanwhile, events spiral further out of control.

Over the years, I have learned that I can avoid this trap. Continuous communication prevents highly charged confrontations and enables productive discussions about desired behaviour or performance:

• Stay respectful and clearly state how you expect the employee to behave, how his current behaviour affects you and what you would like to see instead.
  
  
• Avoid generalisations and judgemental tones. Instead, describe what you want him to do in specific terms. Stay grounded in facts, statistics and measurable statements.   

5.    We lack objective performance standards

The disruption mentioned in point 4 will merrily barrel down our path in the absence of these measurements. Both manager and employee will be working blindly on until someone gets hurt. Performance we don’t measure scientifically to some degree will hold back our efforts to fix performance gaps.  

Often, employees are truly unaware of any dissatisfaction and are genuinely surprised when critical feedback is eventually unleashed on them.

To be fair, we ought to ask ourselves: “Do my employees clearly understand in objective, performance-based, job-related terms what is expected of them on a daily basis?”
 
If the answer is not a resounding “YES”, you have work to do but will soon be on your way to reducing incompetence.

Your priority, as a manager, is to set and express job performance standards. Establish this before you start the hiring process. From the first interview, give the employee the opportunity to understand your expectations.

Then communicate openly and face challenges early. I have found that this is the best way to influence performance positively.

6.    Our organisations lack discipline

We can’t provide love, care and development without injecting a healthy dose of discipline:

• Imagine your company as a fertilised egg holding life, growth and productivity within the protection of its shell, i.e. its structures and values.
• If an egg is broken through external force, life ends.
• If an egg is broken through internal force, life begins. Great things are born from within.

I believe the solution to every staff problem lies within. Within the employee, within our organisation and most definitely within ourselves as leaders.