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How to manage an underperforming employee: a step-by-step plan

To manage an underperforming employee, first work out why the work is falling short, then tell them in private, early and specifically: what good looks like, where they are, and what has to change by when. Agree a plan with weekly check-ins, write each step down, and give real help. If it still doesn't improve after a fair, documented stretch, bring in HR for the formal steps.

This guide is for first-time managers who have someone on the team whose work isn't where it needs to be, and who have probably been hoping it would fix itself. Below: how to tell a skill problem from a will problem, what to check about your own part, word-for-word for the first conversation and the pushback, a filled-in improvement plan, a check-in schedule, what to write down, and when it becomes HR's process.

What counts as underperformance?

Underperformance is a gap between what the job needs and what the person is delivering, over time. One bad week isn't it. A pattern is. Common forms:

• Output: fewer tickets closed, fewer calls made, targets missed month after month.
• Quality: work that has to be redone, errors that customers or teammates catch.
• Deadlines: things that slip, often with a late warning or none.
• Ways of working: not responding, not showing up prepared, leaving others to fill gaps.

Keep it separate from misconduct: harassment, theft, safety breaches, lying, violence. Misconduct isn't a performance problem to coach. It goes straight to HR and your company's conduct policy, often the same day.

Signs an employee is underperforming

New managers often notice it as a feeling before they can name it. Look for:

• You've started checking their work before it goes out, and you don't do that for others.
• Teammates quietly route work around them, or complain to you.
• The same issue comes up in your 1:1s three weeks running.
• Their numbers are clearly below the team's, with no change in their workload to explain it.
• They've gone quiet: fewer questions, fewer ideas, cameras off, more sick days than usual.

The last one matters. A drop in someone who used to do well is often a sign that something has changed, at work or at home, and the conversation should start with a question, not a verdict.

Step 1: work out why before you act

The cause decides the fix. A widely used way to sort it is the skill/will matrix (popularized by Max Landsberg in The Tao of Coaching): can they do it, and do they want to?

You won't know which it is from your desk. Form a guess, then test it in the conversation.

Step 2: check your own part

Before you talk to them, ask yourself honestly:

• Have I ever told them, in plain words, what good looks like? Or did I assume they knew?
• Have I given feedback as it happened, or saved it up?
• Did they get the same onboarding and help as people who are doing well?
• Has their work changed since I took over? New managers often change priorities without saying so.
• Would I be raising this with someone else on the team who did the same thing?

The last question is a fairness check. If the answer is no, slow down. Treating people differently for the same work is unfair, and in the US it can also become a legal problem if it lines up with a protected trait such as age, race, sex, disability or pregnancy.

Step 3: gather specifics

Write down three to five concrete examples with dates. Not "you're not pulling your weight," but:

• "The Halo report was due on 14 October and came in on 21 October."
• "In September you closed 31 tickets; the team's average was 58, with similar queues."
• "Two of the last four client decks had the wrong figures, caught by Maya before they went out."

Specifics do two things. They make it hard to argue about whether there's a problem, so you can talk about the fix. And they make it clear you're talking about the work, not the person.

Step 4: the first conversation

Have it soon, in private, in a 30-minute slot, not at the end of their Friday. Not in a team meeting, not in chat. Use a structure like this:

1. Say why you're meeting, in the first minute.
2. Give the specifics and the impact.
3. Ask what's going on, and listen.
4. Agree what good looks like and by when.
5. Agree the help and the next check-in.

Here is how it can sound:

"Thanks for making time. I want to talk about how your work has been going over the last couple of months, because I'm worried about it and I'd rather say so now than let it build up.

Three things I've seen: the Halo report came in a week late, two of the last four client decks had wrong figures, and your ticket count in September was about half the team's. That's meant Maya has been checking your decks, and the client noticed the late report.

I don't know the whole picture, and I'd like to. What's been going on from your side?"

Then stop and listen. Let silence sit. Ask follow-ups: "What gets in the way?" "When does it go well?" "What would help most?" Only after you've heard them, agree the target:

"Here's what good looks like for this role: reports in on the due date, or a heads-up two days before if it'll slip; decks checked against the source before they come to me; and tickets around the team's average, so 50 or more a month. Let's aim for that by the end of December. I'll do two things: pair you with Ali on the reporting for two weeks, and take the Merit account off you until January. We'll check in every Thursday for 15 minutes. Does that feel fair?"

Finish by asking them to say back what they'll do. It catches misunderstandings while you're still in the room. Our guide to difficult conversations with employees has openings for other hard talks, such as lateness and attitude.

What to say when they push back

For people who get defensive every time, see how to give feedback to an employee who gets defensive.

Step 5: write the improvement plan

Send a short written summary the same day. At this stage it's an informal plan, a follow-up email, not a formal performance improvement plan (PIP). It still needs to be specific.

Goals should be measurable and realistic. "Be more proactive" can't be checked. "Flag any deadline risk two days ahead" can.

Step 6: check in every week

The plan only works if you follow it. A schedule for a six to eight week stretch:

Recognize progress out loud. "Your last three reports were all on time. That's exactly it." People who are struggling often expect only bad news from these meetings; real praise for real improvement keeps them trying.

Step 7: what to write down

After every check-in, a few lines in a private note or an email to them:

• The date and who was there.
• What you looked at (the numbers, the work).
• What they said, briefly and fairly.
• What was agreed and by when.

Facts, not opinions about their character. Write it as if they, HR and a judge might all read it one day, because sometimes they do. Store it where your company keeps employee records, not in a personal notebook.

Most managers have a style that makes this harder: some soften the message until it disappears, some go too hard, some avoid the talk for months. The free leadership style quiz takes about 2 minutes and names yours, with the conversations it tends to put off.

When it becomes a formal process

Bring in HR, or your own manager if there's no HR, when:

• The informal plan has run its course and the gap is still there.
• You're thinking about a formal PIP, a written warning or dismissal.
• They mention a health condition, pregnancy, disability, caring duties or a need for time off. These can bring in the Americans with Disabilities Act (reasonable accommodation) or the Family and Medical Leave Act, and HR needs to handle them.
• They raise a complaint about you, a colleague, or how they're treated.
• They're in a union or covered by a contract that sets out a process.

A formal PIP is usually HR's document, with set goals and a set period; 30, 60 or 90 days are common choices. Your job in it is the same as above: clear goals, weekly check-ins, real help, honest notes. In most US states employment is "at will," but that doesn't make a rushed or uneven process safe; companies follow their own policies, and HR will want to see that you did too. Outside the US the rules differ a lot. None of this is legal advice: when a formal step is near, HR or an employment lawyer is who you ask.

If it doesn't improve

Sometimes, after a fair process, the work still isn't there. The options, usually with HR:

• A different role or scope that fits what they're good at, if one exists.
• A formal PIP, if you've only done the informal plan so far.
• Parting ways, following your company's process.

If it comes to dismissal, it shouldn't be a surprise to them. If they're shocked, the earlier conversations weren't clear enough. Keep the final meeting short, kind and factual, with HR present, and protect their dignity in front of the team.

Remember the rest of the team too. They usually see underperformance long before the manager acts on it, and they notice whether you do anything. You can't share the details, but you can make sure the extra work isn't quietly landing on them.

Mistakes new managers make with underperformers

• Waiting. Hoping it'll sort itself out. It rarely does, and the later you raise it, the bigger the shock.
• Hinting. "Maybe double-check the next one?" isn't feedback. If they don't know there's a problem, there isn't one, as far as they're concerned.
• Saving it for the annual review. Nothing in a review should be news.
• Fixing their work yourself. It hides the problem from everyone, including them, and burns your time.
• Making it about personality. "You don't care" invites a fight. "Three reports were late" invites a plan.
• No dates. "Improve soon" can't be met or missed.
• Not writing it down. If it isn't written, the plan and the progress are your memory against theirs.
• Different standards for different people. It's unfair, the team notices, and it's a legal risk.

Questions about underperforming employees

How long should you give an underperforming employee to improve?

Long enough for the change to show in the real work: for most roles, six to eight weeks for an informal plan, with weekly check-ins. Formal PIPs commonly run 30, 60 or 90 days, set with HR. Very short periods, such as two weeks for a skill that takes months to learn, aren't a fair test.

Should I talk to HR before I talk to the employee?

For a first, informal conversation, you usually don't need to, though a quick check that you're following company policy never hurts. Go to HR first if a formal step is on the table, if health, leave or a complaint is involved, or if you're unsure.

What if the employee is a former peer or a friend?

The process is the same, and it matters more that it's fair and written down. Say it once: "This is awkward because we're friends, and I'm raising it because I want you to do well here." Then stick to the work.

Can I tell the rest of the team?

No. Someone's performance is between you, them and HR. If the team asks, "I'm aware and I'm dealing with it" is enough.

What if they say they're dealing with something personal?

Thank them for telling you, don't ask for details, and point them to the company's employee assistance program if there is one. Tell HR, because leave or accommodation may apply. You can adjust the timeline; you can still be clear about what the job needs.

How do I motivate an underperforming employee?

Find out what matters to them in a 1:1, connect the work to it, remove what's in their way, and notice every real improvement, specifically. If the issue is will rather than skill, the clearest motivator is an honest conversation about the gap and what happens if it stays.

Next: take the free leadership style quiz to see how your style handles performance talks, or browse all our guides for new managers.

Sources

• Max Landsberg, The Tao of Coaching, HarperCollins, 1996 (the skill/will matrix).
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, "Enforcement Guidance on Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship under the ADA": https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/enforcement-guidance-reasonable-accommodation-and-undue-hardship-under-ada
• U.S. Department of Labor, "Family and Medical Leave Act": https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, "Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices": https://www.eeoc.gov/prohibited-employment-policiespractices