Performance Improvement

Carl Peterson is a marketing assistant at a medium sized investment firm in the U.S. He has been in the position for the last 1 year, and he is primarily involved in supporting the marketing manager on sales and marketing projects. This role specifically entails aspects such as organising market research, analysing questionnaires, compiling marketing reports, conducting promotional activities, and engaging clients. In the recent performance review conducted just a few weeks ago, significant shortcomings emerged in Peterson's performance. The review particularly revealed frequent mistakes, consistent inability to follow instructions, repeated failure to meet deadlines, as well as poor interpersonal and communication skills. Other aspects of poor performance that emerged include inattention to detail, poor teamwork skills, and frequent lateness to work. Peterson's weaknesses have significantly disrupted the flow of work at the marketing department, with most of his colleagues increasingly showing reluctance to work with him. More importantly, the department fell short of its targets in the past review period, in large part due to Peterson's poor performance. If the situation is not properly addressed, it may deteriorate or even trickle down to other departments given the critical role of the marketing function.

Peterson's performance can be improved through coaching. Indeed, coaching is a valuable performance improvement tool (Poluka & Kaifi, 2015). Within the workplace setting, coaching essentially denotes the process of supporting employees to achieve their full potential (Clinton, 2010). A coach serves as a counsellor, a guide, a mentor, and an encourager. They continually provide honest and constructive feedback to people who report to them with the aim of developing their talent and skills as well as improving their performance. Leaders, at both the senior and middle level, play a particularly important role in coaching employees. A major challenge, however, is that most managers have little or no training on effective training... How can the marketing manager coach Peterson to enhance his performance? The first important step a coach must do is to know and understand their people (Clinton, 2010). It is not rare for managers to maintain a distance between themselves and their subordinates. Some managers even rarely interact one-on-one with their subordinates -- they give instructions and provide feedback often via phone calls and emails. Accordingly, the manager may not have a deep grasp of their subordinates' strengths and weaknesses, which may hinder their ability to coach them. An effective coach regularly interacts with their subordinates, engages them, and closely observes how they perform their tasks (Clinton, 2010). In the midst of their busy schedules, managers must find time to track employee performance and know what is going on around them. Frequent and close monitoring of employee performance not only improves interpersonal relations between the manager and their subordinate, but also places the manager in a better position to detect and correct performance shortcomings early enough.
Another vital aspect of coaching is providing the necessary support (Clinton, 2010). There is a possibility that Peterson's poor performance is as a result of inadequate support from his boss. An effective coach ensures that their subordinates have the tools, information, equipment, empowerment, and authority necessary for carrying out their day-to-day duties (Poluka & Kaifi, 2015). Indeed, equipping employees with what they need to succeed is perhaps the most important role of a coach. Offering support sends a message to employees that the manager is committed to their success. On the whole, Peterson's boss must take it upon himself to coach Peterson.

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