How would you handle an employee experiencing a sudden lack of on-the-job performance?
Great employees can go sour at times, and your interviewer is asking this question to gauge your ability to diagnose an issue and address it in a way that helps build the morale and confidence of an employee who may be experiencing some trouble on the job. With this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear the interpersonal skills you would use to connect with the employee and your comfort level in being able to address any performance issues, if hired for this role. If you can, reach back into any experience you have that proves your ability to have this difficult conversation.
"First, I would make sure that my first step is to have some documented evidence of the lack of performance, prior to speaking with the employee. If this was a time where a typically well-performing employee suddenly turned, my approach would be pretty straightforward in talking about their drop in performance, and I would really try to leave most of the conversation in their hands to let me know why the drop in performance is happening. From there, problem solving becomes key and course of action would really be dependent on the situation with the employee. I had a situation like this with a team member of mine and it turned out that some troubling things in his home life were negatively impacting his work. I facilitated conversations between the employee and our HR department and some FMLA time was granted."
