In my role as Plant Manager, I would meet with Bob to address his performance issues.
Plant Manager: Good day Bob. As we go through this quarter’s performance review, I would like to
focus our attention on one issue: verifying all outgoing shipments. Over the last three weeks,
management has received ten complaints from customers stating that orders were missing items
and incorrect items were included in the orders. Last Friday, an order from one of our biggest
customers, Lakeview International, was processed and shipped, missing one hundred bronze
faucets. Would you be able to say what might have caused these errors in shipments?
Bob: replies
After listening to Bob’s response, I would want to create a sense of urgency by explaining the
impact of his performance on the organization’s performance and his own career.
Plant Manager: As part of the Shipping and Handling department, your responsibility is to ensure
that each outgoing shipment is complete. Last Friday’s shipment error resulted in a $25,000.00 loss
in sales revenue after Lakeview International cancelled its order due to our mistake and time
constraints. Management is still unsure whether they will continue to do business with us. How
can we prevent such errors from reoccurring?
Bob: replies
By asking Bob how he can prevent such financial losses in the future, I am shifting the
responsibility and ownership to him. I would continue with probing questions to identify the
reason (s) for the performance issue. Once we have identified the root causes for the poor
performance, I would seek to work with Bob on formulating a verification system/plan that is
measurable to correct the performance issue. This will help to win his support and buy-in in the
change effort. To ensure that Bob understands what is expected of him, I would request his
feedback and schedule regular follow-up meetings to discuss his progress.
The best way to approach the poor performance review would be to meet with Bob face to face to
explain there is one issue to focus on: the importance of making sure shipments is complete and
defect free. It would be best to clearly communicate to him the issue at hand with the customer
complaints and the overall impact this situation has on the company, such as losing customers and
additional expenses to fix the incorrect shipments. b This way Bob will understand why it is
important to improve his performance. b The communication can then turn problem solving, and
both myself, as the manager, and Bob can discuss different options for process improvements. b My
suggestion would be for us to create a checklist for Bob to begin using when reviewing each
shipment to confirm that all items on the invoice are included in the shipment, and that the
quality of all items is up to par, this document could even include tips on what are common
defects to watch for. b Then I would say this documentation would be maintained for a time, to
ensure it was available for review if a customer complaint was received. b We could also start a
system of random orders having a two-stage check of quality control so that there are more eyes
on shipments periodically, to increase the confidence in the shipments going out, in addition to
helping hold Bob to clearer standards with a checklist. b I would also ask Bob if there were any
other reasons performance decreased in recent months and let him know I am open to any
process change suggestions he has, if he thinks of an improvement to be made to our systems,
since it is important that we all work together as a team (Cardon, 2021).
Some of the ways to support Bob through the process changes would be to involve him in the
creation of the checklist system, thus giving him some ownership over the process, and making a
specific plan to meet up again in two months (and further in the future) to check in with the
progress of the new checklist system and give Bob that time to express any concerns or further
improvement thoughts (Ko Poulos, 2017). b One of the things that is important is to keep the
communication open so Bob feels like he is part of the team and that we both want him to
succeed. b Another option would be to provide additional training for Bob if he needs it as well as
include Bob in any area conferences that discuss the latest trends and technology in quality
control, so that he stays up to date on system enhancements that will help him improve efficiency
over time (LeClair & Rao, 2002).
Cardon, P. W. (2021). Business communication: Developing leaders for a networked world (4th ed.).
McGraw-Hill.
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/
LeClair, J. A., & Rao, R. P. (2002, November 1). Helping employees embrace change. McKinsey &
Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-
insights/helping-employees-embrace-change
