Upfront With Underperformance

Problem

I had hired a junior engineer who, after a couple of months, really wasn't meeting my expectations despite being given smaller items to get started on. Everything took a lot longer than it should have and the quality of his work wasn't good. While managers should always act early when new hires aren't working out, I was working in Canada at the time where there is a legal 90-day probation period where I was working in Canada where they have a 90-day probation period, where you are able to terminate an employee without any notice or any pay. I hired a junior employee but after a couple of months, I decided I needed to sit down with him to explain that he wasn't delivering what I expected. Everything I gave him took a lot longer than it should have and the quality of his work wasn't good.

Actions taken

I sat down with him to explain the situation. I told him I needed to make a decision in the next 30 days so I could make a decision and that I wanted to give him a chance to improve. He took this to heart as he hadn't realized he wasn't performing, and he took my feedback as a call to action. He started to work extra hard and turned the situation around. Once he was told what he was doing wrong he was able to turn things around.

Lessons learned

Being respectful and upfront is key. Don't wait until the last minute to give feedback. Instead, confront the issues as you see them so that employees have a chance to improve.