I’m a team manager that promotes work-life integration. Some of my employees are high performers and using it effectively, and others are using it to be lazy. How do I keep the supports for the high performers while making sure the others aren’t taking advantage of them.
First of all, congratulations on offering work-life options and flexibility! Kudos to you on that kind of leadership, and on realizing the importance of performance and accountability. This is an easy one and I take a hard line: Options for work-life flexibility must be utterly connected to performance. If some employees take advantage of flexible options, it’s bad for business, bad for team morale, bad for the overall culture, and grounds for performance management. I realize I’m coming down hard here, but I really believe that accountability and performance are critical to the future of work-life for all employees. I urge you to deal with the performance issues of the specific employee in question here, and not reduce all work-life options that you’re making available to others.
Just a note, sometimes it’s possible that people need time to adjust to flexible working, and it’s always good to give people the benefit of the doubt. Adjustments can include learning how to manage their work with less structure, learning time management tips, and generally building new habits and patterns for working at different times and places. If this is the case, it works really well to obtain training for the team in these areas and/or to initiate a conversation with team members. Get the group together and have a positive, constructive dialogue about the team’s flexible working. What’s working well for the team members, what have they learned so far, how can they help each other with tips and experiences they can share?
On the other hand, if you’ve already determined this is a performance issue, it’s important to ensure you’re working closely and in alignment with HR. everything you do as a leader should – obviously – be aligned with policies, practices, equity requirements of the company, and legal requirements. Given this, tread appropriately and if you’re not already partnering with HR, start now.
In addition, be sure you’re managing with a solid foundation. You need to set clear expectations for performance including the tasks and outcomes you’re seeking as well as the behaviors you want to see from the team. You’ll want to be sure you’re managing to objectives and holding people accountable not based on their face-time, but based on how well they’re meeting the objectives you’ve set. You’ll also want to ensure you’re giving feedback and keeping open lines of communication with employees. If you’re having concerns about an employee’s performance, say something immediately versus letting concerns accumulate and escalate. Also ensure you’re treating the team members equitably. Treating people equally is sometimes not possible because of differing job requirements within a team, but treating them equitably is non-negotiable. Finally, be sure you’re careful about confidentiality for the employee in question and for all employees. Again, HR and your HR processes should guide you in all of this.
Once you’ve ensured you have alignment with HR and have established a solid foundation of good management practices, I recommend you sit down with the employee and express your concerns openly and constructively. Stay open to the possibility that you may learn something new or determine that your initial conclusion that s/he is slacking is incorrect. After your conversation, if you are still sure the employee is indeed taking advantage and not delivering on objectives, then it is perfectly fair to reduce or remove the flexible option. Keep in mind that if you do this, the employee may need time to make adjustments in his/her personal life so you may give notice of your plans to reduce/remove the flexibility privilege. From there, be sure to establish check points with the employee to ensure objectives are being met. Give it time. Ensure that performance is solid for six months to a year before you reintroduce flex options.
In the future, also be sure that when you provide work-life flexible working options you have clear agreements with employees regarding the objectives they must still meet and regular check-ins for progress and feedback opportunities. It’s a great idea to have a specific statement of commitment they sign as well as yourself and the team.
It’s so important to hold people accountable to outcomes so that others don’t suffer for their poor performance, and so that the work-life flexibility options themselves aren’t put in jeopardy.
Good luck!!