A client called me this week with a frontline performance management issue on a construction project:
He has a crew working towards a goal in Crewscope, and most of the team is working well. They are consistent and focused. But one of them needs to pull his weight.
The site leader struggles. He feels the guy doesn’t deserve an equal share of reward points. But he doesn’t want to demotivate him even more.
This is a common scenario. The first question usually is: can I adjust the points and give the guy less but not zero?
No, for two reasons. 1) Determining how much each worker deserves is too much work, and 2) It is discretionary, which we know is prone to favoritism and frustrates workers.
So, how do we deal with this guy and manage performance?
It’s always best to start as a human. Pull him aside and show some genuine care for his well-being. See if he needs anything to help pick it up.
In this case, our leader has done that several times with no improvement.
Now is the time to have a hard conversation (frontline performance management). This is one of the hardest things to master as a leader. I struggled with this earlier in my career.
The unlock for me came when I realized I needed to manage performance with one person to boost the rest of my team.
Workers often say they prefer a four-person team that works well together to a five-person team with a bad apple.
Before Crewscope, the only way to do this is through progressive discipline. With Crewscope, we have another tool for construction crew performance management.
I suggested the site leader position our rewards program as a privilege workers earn by showing up reliably and putting in an honest effort. If they do, they earn points for good results.
If not, they lose the opportunity for that cycle and can join the next round, provided they meet the bar.
Crewscope gives the site leader an extra tool when having a performance conversation. It’s up to the leader to set the bar and recognize people that go over and above.
Check out some more of our best practices to improve labor productivity, such as our latest whitepaper.
