Instructor
Carolyn D. Riggins
One of the most difficult responsibilities of leadership is managing an employee who is struggling to meet expectations. Most managers know when something is not working. Deadlines are missed. Work quality becomes inconsistent. Productivity declines.
Expectations are repeatedly explained, yet the same concerns continue. Other employees begin carrying additional responsibilities, frustration grows across the team, and the manager starts wondering, “How much longer do I coach? What exactly should I document? Am I being fair? When should HR become involved? What if I handle this incorrectly?”
Those questions create uncertainty, and uncertainty often leads to delay.
Leading Through Underperformance: How to Manage and Document a Struggling Employee is designed to help managers, supervisors, and organizational leaders confidently navigate one of the most challenging areas of people management. This session goes beyond simply telling leaders to “document everything.” Participants will learn how to connect effective performance management with meaningful documentation so that conversations, expectations, coaching, accountability, progress, and next steps tell a clear and consistent story.
Underperformance does not affect only the struggling employee. When performance problems remain unresolved, high performers may become discouraged because they are expected to compensate for another employee. Team productivity can decline. Customer service can suffer. Managers may spend excessive time revisiting the same issues. HR may become involved after months of inconsistent conversations or incomplete documentation. Senior leadership may ultimately face employee relations concerns, turnover, reduced morale, operational disruptions, and unnecessary organizational risk.
At the same time, employees deserve clarity. A struggling employee should understand what is not meeting expectations, why it matters, what improvement looks like, what support is available, how progress will be evaluated, and what may happen if improvement does not occur. Strong leadership requires both accountability and fairness.
This webinar will help leaders understand how to recognize performance concerns earlier, separate facts from assumptions, prepare for difficult conversations, communicate expectations clearly, coach employees toward improvement, establish measurable follow through, and document the performance journey with greater accuracy and purpose. Participants will also explore how to determine when continued coaching is appropriate, when stronger intervention may be necessary, and when HR partnership becomes important.
The value of this training extends far beyond managing one difficult employee. It strengthens a manager's ability to communicate, coach, make sound decisions, protect consistency, reinforce standards, and build a culture where expectations and accountability are understood.
Investing in this training is an investment in stronger managers, better employee experiences, healthier teams, and more effective organizations. Leaders should not have to operate from fear, uncertainty, or guesswork when performance problems arise. They should have a clear process, practical tools, and the confidence to lead difficult situations responsibly.
The goal is not simply to document underperformance.
The goal is to manage it, address it, document it, support improvement, and lead through it with clarity, confidence, consistency, and accountability.
Managing a struggling employee can place even an experienced leader in an uncomfortable position. You may recognize that performance is declining, deadlines are being missed, expectations are not being met, or the same problems continue to resurface, but still find yourself questioning what to say, how much support to provide, when to document, when HR should become involved, or whether you are handling the situation fairly and correctly.
That uncertainty can lead to delayed conversations, inconsistent accountability, incomplete documentation, and frustration for everyone involved. Meanwhile, the struggling employee may not fully understand the seriousness of the performance gap, high-performing employees may become frustrated by carrying additional responsibilities, HR may inherit a problem that has gone unaddressed too long, and organizational performance can suffer.
Leading Through Underperformance: How to Manage and Document a Struggling Employee is designed to help managers move beyond fear, uncertainty, and avoidance and lead these situations with greater clarity, confidence, consistency, and accountability. Participants will learn how to recognize underperformance early, communicate expectations clearly, coach toward improvement, document the performance journey appropriately, and determine when additional action may be necessary. This is not simply a session about paperwork. It is about becoming a stronger leader who can address difficult performance issues while giving employees a clear and fair opportunity to improve.
Participants will walk away better prepared to:
