Under-performing employees are sabotaging your business

I read a blog recently that made me shake my head in disbelief.  With unemployment rising you would think that those currently employed would value their pay check – wouldn't you?

The anonymous contributor to Best of Stamford recounts a poor customer service experience.

"I went into our local Subway sandwich shop the other day. It was empty. No-one else in there and no-one was behind the counter.

As I approached the counter I could see the member of staff in the back room busy doing something. I coughed and she looked up, rolled her eyes and reluctantly came out to serve me.

I gave her my order and she made up my sandwich. No eye contact. No conversation.

Then, just as she was wrapping the sandwich and taking my money two other people walked into the shop. "Oh not more customers" she said (emphasis on 'more'!) "When am I going to get my work done?"

I was speechless. She works in a sandwich shop. What 'work' is there other than making sandwiches and serving people? Well obviously something else was on her mind. She really did believe that she had something more important to do than serve customers – and consequently she was sabotaging all the marketing efforts of the mighty Subway organisation, not to mention the owner of that particular shop/franchise".

So what's the lesson for you? Well, I reckon that every business has some sabotage going on somewhere. An employee who is not employed in the right job, doesn't understand how they add value to the company and is not measured on what they deliver.  That results in under -performance and chasing away the hard fought for customers who have several other sandwich shops they can frequent.

Stopping that sabotage could be the single biggest step a business can make to ensure that it survives and thrives in the recession.

If you feel that you want to focus on making substantial improvements to your business performance, then deploying people in the right opportunities and maximising their performance is critical. 

Contact us to find out more about how Recrion can assist with your talent management and performance strategies on 01780 484910 or visit www.recrion.co.uk