Delivering negative feedback or constructive criticism in an employee review can be a daunting
task. As the manager, you need to ensure that the employee understands the changes that need to
take place, get them to participate in creating a plan to make that change, assist them in
implementing the plan and monitor their progress, and communicate the change to any affected or
supporting parties.
In the case presented, lets focus on the discrepancies in inventory. Firstly, the manager would need
to understand precisely how these discrepancies are occurring. Inventory is frequently one of the
balance sheet items with the highest fraud risk, so extra care should be taken in conducting a
thorough investigation of how any errors or wilful misstatements may have occurred.
Perhaps, in the investigation, it is revealed that Bob has not been recording inventory appropriately
due to a lack of understanding the AITS. Further, because nobody is responsible for reviewing Bob's
work these issues go undetected until they become problematic. In this case, step one would be to
meet with Bob and explain the problem and how it was being caused. A neutral tone should be
used when describing the source of the problem to sound helpful rather than accusatory. Next, the
manager would want to work with Bob to develop a plan for him to complete some training to
improve his capabilities with the AITS. This should be conducted for roughly one hour of the
workday, three days per week at a time of Bob's choosing until completion - resources will be
allocated to ensure he is not missed at his workstation during his training times. During the
training, the inventory portion of Bob's work will be supervised and approved by a manager - once
a week Bob will meet with a manager to discuss how he feels about his progress and anything he
may need more assistance with. Following the training Bob's work will be subject to 20% randomly
sampled peer review of his work. Pending improvement this can ultimately be reduced to 5% to
limit associated costs while maintaining an appropriate level of assurance.
Ultimately, it should also be communicated to Bob that the company takes some accountability for
the mistakes and for not ensuring he was adequately trained. The manager will want Bob to see
them as a helpful resource and partner in change, rather than as a monitor and enforcer of that
change.
As of lately I have been notified that there has been a difference in your performance. After
assessing the quarterly performance review with other managers there are a few issues we would
like to address with you. (2)
(8) We know you have been a loyal employee with a great work ethic. Recently there seems to
have been a change in the quality of your work. (5) Over the past few months there have been
multiple instances where orders have not been properly completed. There have been discrepancies
in the inventory and customers have complained about shipments containing defects. (3) As the
company’s lead quality control personal we rely on you heavily to ensure customers are getting
packages with no defects. (4)
At the quarterly performance review, the team proposed that we focus on the problem stated,
ensuring that customers are receiving orders with no defects. We believe it would be beneficial to
attend training on the company’s quality control policies. This training will classify what our
company recognized as defects and how to ensure they are being caught before shipment. In
addition to training, we believe it would be beneficial to plan a meeting with you and a manager to
assist you with scheduling. (3) Since you are our lead quality control employee, we want to ensure
you are given all the tools to succeed in this role. (7) The meeting will be to focus on the amount of
work and how to properly distribute said work to ensure these mistakes do not continue. Lastly, we
will be checking in bi-weekly to ensure there are no other tools necessary to set you up for success.
(9)(6)
(10) You have been a wonderful employee and a great addition to this company. We want to see
you flourish and continue growing in your position. If you have any questions or concerns, please
reach out to *Susan* - HR manager. *Matthew* will be reaching out to you soon to schedule your
training and future meetings.
I added the number correlated with the changes directly related to my statements in the email
According to Ko Poulos:
Begin with the people factor
Take a top-down approach
Involve every layer
Build the business case
Establish ownership and accountability
Communication well, communication often
Assess the cultural nuances
Address culture directly
Continually reassess and adjust
Maintain a personal dialogue
Ko Poulos, A. (2017, February 6). How to lead change management: 10 guiding principles.
Employee Connect HRIS. https://www.employeeconnect.com/blog/how-to-lead-change-
management-guiding-principles/
