Question

Ryan manages a team of 5 staff in a small office environment. Sophie is a relatively new staff member to the team having recently taken on the position of trainee receptionist. Initially Sophie’s performance was great and Ryan was pleased with her ability to quickly learn new tasks and work well as part of a team. Recently however Ryan has noticed that Sophie’s performance has begun to deteriorate. She is consistently late without explanation, takes personal calls regularly throughout the day and is not meeting deadlines that have been set. Ryan has also found that her attitude and communication techniques when dealing with clients has not been appropriate and require improvement in order for her to continue in the role.

a) Develop a plan for Sophie’s improvement ensuring you have included areas required for improvement and set clear indicators for review.

b) How would Ryan need to work with Sophie to identify additional support that may be required including management support and resources?

c) What strategies should Ryan implement in order to ensure both he and Sophie are able to come to an agreement regarding the plan and are clear on the requirements of this?

d) In which circumstances may Ryan be required to seek assistance from human resources specialists when working with Sophie regarding this performance improvement plan?

e) In which circumstances might Ryan need to direct Sophie to relevant support services?

Answer 1

Develop a plan for Sophie’s improvement ensuring you have included areas required for improvement and set clear indicators for review.

Performance plan
Employee name	Sophie
Employee position and level	New staff
Manager name	Ryan
Manager position	Team Manager
Date of plan	26/07/2019
Period of plan	26/07/2019 to 16/08/2019
Interim review date	16/08/2019
Final review date	16/08/2019
Performance improvement objective: improve the work performance
Required outcomes	Improve punctuation. Meeting deadlines Attitude Improve communication skills
Strategies	· Your priority task at all times will be processing customer orders. · If you have any questions (eg. you’re not sure how to complete a task, or if you’re asked to complete a different task), you must immediately raise this with your manager. · Improve punctuation.
Support	· Your manager will provide you with refresher training on the order software. · Your manager will meet with you each Monday to provide you with feedback on your progress against the required outcomes.
Responsibilities	Employee: · to meet the required outcomes by the final review date. · to participate in refresher training on the order software and weekly feedback meetings with your manager, as well as any other training or development activities that your manager considers appropriate. Manager: · to provide you with on-the-job support. · to provide you with refresher training on the order software. · to conduct weekly feedback meetings.
Consequences	If you fail to meet the required outcomes by the review date, without a reasonable excuse, you will be given a final written warning.

How would Ryan need to work with Sophie to identify additional support that may be required including management support and resources?

• Ryan will provide Sophie with refresher training on the order software.
• Ryan will meet with Sophie each Monday to provide you with feedback on your progress against the required outcomes.

What strategies should Ryan implement in order to ensure both he and Sophie are able to come to an agreement regarding the plan and are clear on the requirements of this?

• Your priority task at all times will be processing customer orders.
• If you have any questions (eg. you’re not sure how to complete a task, or if you’re asked to complete a different task), you must immediately raise this with your manager.
• Improve punctuation.
• Meeting deadlines
• Attitude

In which circumstances may Ryan be required to seek assistance from human resources specialists when working with Sophie regarding this performance improvement plan?

When counseling, providing a Performance Improvement Plan, or taking action, you may discover that a performance problem is due to a mental or physical condition. As a result, an employee may request some type of accommodation. If the accommodation request does not cause the agency an undue hardship, you are required to accommodate the employee if he or she has a disability and is a “qualified” individual with a disability. This type of situation is an area in which you will have to get technical assistance from your human resources office. However, as a starting point in your determination as to whether an employee is entitled to such an accommodation, review the checklist below.

In which circumstances might Ryan need to direct Sophie to relevant support services?

If Sophie’s performance has not yet been improved within the time frame that set by Performance Improvement Plan, therefore Rayan need to direct Sophie to relevant support services.