How to Motivate an Underperforming Employee & Signs to Look For

Even if an employee is a positive asset of the organization with a good attitude, you might have to talk to them about the quality or quantity of their work. Well before you need to have a performance improvement plan (PIP), it’s important to assess the employee, talk with them, and create a structured plan to get them motivated to perform at a satisfactory level.

Signs of an Underperforming Employee

Recognizing underperformance in the workplace involves observing behavioral and productivity patterns over time. Once the signs of underperformance are identified, it’s essential to address the issue through open communication, support, and clear action plans to help the employee improve. Early intervention helps the employee and helps maintain overall team productivity and morale. Here are key signs of bad performance in the workplace.

Missed Deadlines and Inconsistent Results: One visible indicator of poor performance is consistently missing deadlines. When an employee regularly fails to meet project deadlines or submits incomplete work, it suggests time management or efficiency problems. This can also show up in inconsistent results—some tasks may be completed adequately, while others fall short of expectations. While occasional delays are understandable, a pattern of missed deadlines signals an ongoing problem.

Declining Quality of Work: A noticeable decline in the quality of work is another sign of underperformance. For example, if an employee’s deliverables consistently contain errors, lack attention to detail, or fail to meet previously established standards, this indicates a problem. Declining quality often stems from disengagement, burnout, or lack of necessary skills. It’s important to address this early, as poor-quality work can negatively impact team performance and customer satisfaction.

Lack of Initiative: Employees who were once proactive but now show a lack of initiative may be struggling with performance issues. Underperforming staff tend to avoid taking on new tasks, hesitate to suggest ideas, or appear to lack enthusiasm for the work. If an employee seems to be doing the bare minimum, it could indicate disengagement or a lack of motivation. A decline in initiative can hinder innovation and slow down team progress, especially in roles that require creativity or problem-solving.

Poor Collaboration and Communication: Effective collaboration and communication are key to workplace success. When an employee becomes less communicative, avoids team interactions, or fails to contribute to meetings, it may signal they are struggling. Ineffective communication naturally leads to misunderstandings and missed opportunities, which can increase performance issues. If team members start complaining about having to “pick up the slack” or there’s friction in collaboration, it’s a red flag that bad performance may be at play.

Frequent Absenteeism or Tardiness: Frequent absenteeism, lateness, or long periods of unavailability during work hours can indicate underlying performance problems. While occasional absences are normal, repeated patterns of absence or tardiness often reflect a lack of engagement, personal issues, or dissatisfaction with the role. This can also have a ripple effect, burdening other team members who cover for the missing employee, and reducing overall productivity.

Resistance to Feedback or Training: Employees who are underperforming often resist feedback or do not take action when constructive criticism is given. The reaction may be defensiveness, dismissiveness, or indifference - all coping reactions that you will need to help them move past. Additionally, if you provide an employee with training or upskilling opportunities but they show no progress or interest in learning, this can be a clear sign of disengagement or a lack of adaptability to the demands of the role.

Low Engagement and Negative Attitude: Low engagement is a common characteristic of underperforming employees. A negative or indifferent attitude toward tasks, co-workers, or the organization as a whole is a sign to consider. This often shows a lack of enthusiasm, decreased participation in meetings, or minimal contribution to team goals. Employees with poor attitudes may also complain often or resist organizational changes, further impacting their productivity and team morale.

Tips for Managing an Underperforming Employee

Managing underperforming or poorly-performing staff is a challenging task for a manager, but you need to do it promptly and constructively. Handling the situation effectively can improve employee performance, team morale, and productivity. Here are practical tips for managing underperforming staff:

Exercise Empathy and Identify the Root Cause: Before jumping to conclusions or taking action, try to understand why an employee is underperforming. Common causes include lack of skills, unclear expectations, personal issues, or disengagement. Take time to analyze their work patterns, talk to them, and gather feedback from colleagues to pinpoint the underlying problem. Is the employee struggling with a specific aspect of their job, or is their workload overwhelming? Understanding the root cause helps you pick the best path forward, in a way that has the best chance of succeeding.

Provide Clear, Constructive Feedback: One effective way to address underperformance is through clear and direct feedback. Explain specific areas where the employee is falling short, using concrete examples. Avoid being overly critical or vague—constructive feedback should focus on behaviors and outcomes, not personality. For instance, instead of saying, “You’re not working hard enough,” say, “I noticed that three of your project deadlines were missed this month. Let’s discuss why this happened and how we can prevent it moving forward.” Be sure to highlight any strengths or previous successes to encourage the employee.

Set Clear Expectations and Goals: Often, underperformance stems from a lack of clarity about what’s expected. During a feedback session, ensure that the employee understands the performance standards they need to meet. Set specific and clear goals that are aligned with their job responsibilities. For example, if an employee is struggling with time management, you might set a goal of completing specific tasks by designated deadlines over the next month. Clear goals provide a benchmark to measure progress and give the employee a sense of direction.

Offer Support and Resources: Once you’ve identified the problem and set expectations, provide the necessary support to help the employee succeed. This could include additional training, mentoring, or adjusting their workload if it's overwhelming. If personal issues affect performance, consider offering flexibility or referring them to employee assistance programs (EAPs). Sometimes, underperforming employees lack the tools or resources needed to perform their jobs effectively, so offering these can remove barriers to success.

Provide Ongoing Feedback and Recognition: Improving performance doesn’t happen overnight, so it’s crucial to provide ongoing feedback. Schedule regular check-ins to discuss progress, address any new issues, and offer guidance. Be sure to acknowledge any improvements, even small ones. Positive reinforcement can go a long way in motivating an employee to continue putting in the effort to improve.

Know When to Escalate: Unfortunately, not every case of underperformance can be resolved, even with support and clear expectations. If the employee doesn't improve after multiple attempts to help, you may need to escalate the situation. This could involve a performance improvement plan (PIP), formal warning, reassignment, or in some cases, termination. This is often a last resort, but it's needed to be fair to the team and maintain organizational performance.

Managing underperforming staff requires a combination of empathy, clear communication, and accountability. It's also important to monitor progress and take further action if necessary to ensure that the team remains productive and aligned with organizational goals.

Quick Tips: Working Beside a Bad Performer

Most of the time, we talk about how managers should work with poor performers, but bad performance impacts peers too. Below are ways to handle the situation if you find yourself working side-by-side with an underperformer.

Communicate clearly: Make clear what you will handle and what you assume the other person is doing that relates to your work. Help clarify goals in ways that make boundaries clear.
Lead by example: Demonstrate your own work ethic and quality, and don’t sink to the other person’s level or condone their behavior through expressions of sympathy or alignment.
Offer support: Assess whether they need help or resources to improve, such as training or mentoring. Offer references to other resources and encourage them to seek help from a supervisor.
Don’t Cover for Them: Avoid covering for their mistakes to prevent enabling poor performance.
Collaborate strategically: Delegate tasks that align with their strengths, reducing the risk of failure. Note what you are doing and why to support any discussions with your supervisor about what you are doing.
Stay professional: Avoid gossip or expressing your frustration with others. Focus on problem-solving.

Escalate when necessary: If their performance impacts team goals, diplomatically escalate the issue to management or HR. Objectively share what you observe and the impact on the team.

Pryor Performance Management Training

Managing poor performers is an important part of managing others. Pryor’s online and in-person training courses on Management and Leadership can help you develop these skills described above. Here are some good examples: