Coaching an employee

Regardless of an employee’s classification and title, coaching is the foundation of the performance improvement process. Coaching is considered “informal” corrective action. As issues arise with staff behavior or performance, talk with the staff member to ensure awareness of the problem. Be specific regarding the nature of the problem and ensure that the employee understands that further action is possible, including formal corrective action, if the performance deficiencies persist or if other performance issues arise. An effective coaching conversation includes the following elements:

• Identify the objective facts of the issue (who, what, when, where).
• Ask the employee for their side of the story or response to the issue.
• Illustrate the impact the issue has on others and/or the workplace (e.g. hardship on coworkers and colleagues, poor service to customers, etc.).
• Discuss mechanisms for improvement and provide measurements and specific timeframes, if appropriate.
• Ask the staff member what they need to perform successfully in this area of work.
• Inform the staff member that you will continue to review their work to ensure expectations are met.
• Highlight areas where the staff member is performing well.

Inform the employee that you are documenting the conversation, and keep a summary of the conversation, including what the employee said about the issues, in a supervisory file (not the employee’s personnel file). It is a best practice to send an email to the employee following the coaching conversation to document the conversation and solidify expectations going forward. Follow up with the employee within a few weeks of the coaching session to review progress.

Coaching may not be required in every situation, depending on the circumstances. For example, managers may not need to engage in coaching when the issue involves workplace violence or theft, among other things. Issues such as these would proceed directly to a formal corrective action.