Dealing with a sudden drop in performance

As the economy continues to hurt business and diminish our 401(k)s, new research is showing that it’s also pulling employee engagement down with it.

In a national survey of U.S. companies by Quantum Workplace, 66% of firms saw decreases in employee engagement between 2007 and 2008.

“By an almost two-to-one margin (134 to 76), more employers had lower overall employee engagement scores in the fall of 2008 than in the fall of 2007. This result is out of the ordinary from our trends for the last five years, and strongly suggests that external circumstances regarding the economy may well be influencing employees' attitudes about their jobs and workplaces," said Greg Harris, president of Quantum Workplace.

The survey measured employee engagement by “the ability and willingness of individuals to exert extra effort for the benefit of the company, their tendency to speak highly of the organization and their intent to stay," according to Harris.

Engaged employees won’t make the recession disappear, but they are one of your most effective tools for pulling through it with more success than you would otherwise.

Workplace studies continually show that engaged employees perform significantly higher than those not engaged in their work. Businesses with an engaged workforce will typically have increased service and customer loyalty, better individual employee performance and reduced costs including safety, absenteeism and lost productivity.

Whether it’s due to the economy, a child’s health issue or dealing with a bully in the workplace, managers need to know how to spot when an employee is in trouble and what they should do to help.


It starts with a conversation

Training managers and supervisors on how to address a sudden drop in employee performance in a previously high-performing staff member starts with a lesson in communication.

Rather than making assumptions or taking an accusatory stance, supervisors should start with a conversation. Explain to the employee that you’ve noticed a drop in their performance and ask if it’s because of something that is going on at the office or at home.

Once you get down to the root of it, you’ll be in a better position to help the employee with their problem and eventually improve their performance. With that knowledge, supervisors can then help employees find the support they need.

We’ve been conducting our own research on employee performance and need your help. Please answer this simple, one-question poll on LinkedIn: How do you handle a sudden drop in a star employee's performance?

Employee attendance problems? You’re not alone

One third (33%) of U.S. workers have “played hooky” from the office, calling in sick when they were well at least once this year, according to CareerBuilder.com’s annual absenteeism survey.

The majority of employers surveyed said they rarely question the reason for an employee’s absence, but 31% of employers admit to checking up on an employee who called in sick and 18% have fired someone for missing work without a legitimate excuse.

CareerBuilder.com surveyed more than 6,800 workers and 3,300 employers nationwide, revealing some interesting absenteeism statistics including the most frequent reasons for calling in sick:

• Almost one-in-ten workers (9%) admit to playing hooky because they wanted to miss a meeting, buy some time to work on a project that was due or to avoid the wrath of a boss or colleague.
• Nearly one-third (30%) called in sick because they just needed to relax and recharge.
• Others missed work to go to a doctor’s appointment (27%), catch up on sleep (22%), run personal errands (14%), catch up on housework (11%) or spend time with family and friends (11%).
• 34% of “sick” employees just didn’t feel like going to work that day.

"It’s in your best interest to be up-front with your employer and chances are you’ll get the time you need," said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.com. "More companies today are moving toward a Paid Time Off system, giving employees more flexibility in how they categorize time away from the office. Employers are also expanding the definition of the sick day with 65 percent stating that they allow their team members to use sick days for mental health days."

If you’ve had problems with attendance tracking in the past and are looking for a way to simplify the process, we have an upcoming webinar that may help you out.

In one, 30-minute “lunch and learn” presentation you’ll learn how unscheduled absenteeism affects your business, the benefits of electronic recordkeeping and how to move from a paperwork-filled mess to a greener, electronic time-tracking system.

This free webinar, sponsored by Gradience, was created specifically for software beginners interested in reducing attendance paperwork and moving to an electronic solution, saving time and helping the environment.

Sign up today for Software Basics: Track Attendance Electronically Like a Pro on Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at 1 p.m., ET.

View more upcoming webinars here.