Don’t Lie about Your Employees’ Performance to Keep Them Going
You might hesitate to tell the truth to your employees in fears of hurting their feelings. Even if they’re doing a terrible job, you still decide to keep it from them. You also worry that the employee will resign. Going through the process of hiring and training a new person is expensive and time-consuming.
Although your reason is understandable, your method is incorrect. You might think that lying about performance is going to help your business, but it won’t. If anything, you’re making that employee think that everything is okay, and the current performance is good enough.
You want everyone to excel
The performance of your employees will have a direct impact on the business. If someone is dragging the company down, the efforts of other employees will go to waste. You might even make the rest feel like they’re efforts are worthless because a mediocre or terrible job performance goes unnoticed.
You can say negative feedback constructively
The misconception among most leaders is that saying something terrible to employees regarding their performance can be viewed negatively. They also fear being branded as an insensitive and heartless leader for telling the truth. It boils down to how you express your thoughts. If you manage to be direct but constructive, it helps. For instance, instead of telling an employee that the job performance was a disaster, you can point out the specific area. You can also give advice on how that person can do better. You make that employee realize that’s there’s a better way of doing things and trying it won’t hurt.
Create a culture of honesty and positivity
If you always use this strategy to help your employees improve, they will get used to it. The next time you confront them about their performance, they won’t feel bad about it. They might even feel excited that you pointed out how they can be better. Besides, they would rather hear it from a trusted leader like you than from fellow employees gossiping about them.
It should be on the context of love and concern
Although your goal is to help them improve and boost the business, it’s not the only reason. You also want these employees to improve professionally. They need your words to evaluate themselves and be better. Make it clear to them that your goal isn’t to make them feel bad. Avoid threatening them to be fired as a result of their performance. Eventually, they will get used to your leadership style. You will even hear words of gratitude because you showed love and concern.
Make it clear to everyone that when you give feedback, it’s always coming from a good place. You never intend to hurt feelings or pull people down. New employees should also understand this culture even before they start working.
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