Who would ever think that great performance can be punished? It turns out it can.

According to an article published in neuroleadership.com titled ‘Performance Punishment: The reason you may be losing your best people’, the downside to being a great performer is that it can lead to burnout. This is a result of being weighed down by an insurmountable workload, relative to other staff in the same team or other work peers in the same organization.

Performance punishment is a culture that can begin small. And while it may seem flattering at first to the high-performing employee to be trusted with important tasks, it becomes stressful in the end and the employee may eventually leave the organization.

To mitigate the harmful outcomes of performance punishment, the causes need to be nipped in the bud. It can begin by ensuring that jobs are structured correctly. This could be in terms of scope for example. Does the scope match the job level and the skill requirements? Is it sized properly compared to similar jobs? Periodic job analysis could also go a long way in ensuring that jobs are up to date and reflect the operational and organizational changes that may have occurred. In case the job position is open, the advertisement needs to be clear from the onset. This would attract the right candidates and avert non-serious candidates. During the interviews, the role expectations need to be communicated clearly. This could be through well-thought-out interview questions that align with the job description. Realistic job previews can also be done to manage the expectations of the successful candidate and to gauge their readiness for the job.

The onboarding programme should be as incisive as it is broad. It should not only be about the company but the role itself. Role onboarding is sometimes left out of the main onboarding programme with the expectation that it would happen ‘on the job’. However, many important things can fall through the cracks with this assumption. For example, onboarding on the systems relevant to the role, and the stakeholders that the role holder will be interacting with (and for what) are key things that the role holder needs to be appraised of at the earliest opportunity. When onboarding of staff is done properly it puts all the new staff at a level playing ground after which it is their performance and their persona that will be the distinguishing factors.

Goal setting and performance expectations can be set after onboarding, where rewards for good performance and penalties for poor performance will be communicated. The staff can also be informed of the various channels of communication available in case there are any concerns or grievances while in employment.

If we take an example of a marketing team, the manager should always ensure that the team members have the required information at all times. If there are any changes to a marketing campaign, the same should be communicated in a timely and effective manner to the relevant parties. This open communication puts everyone on the same page and enhances teamwork as opposed to the silo mentality that may arise from the selective sharing of information. It would also deconstruct emerging concerns on workload and performance.

Regular meetings can help the manager feel the pulse of the team and act accordingly in case of any issue. The meetings should not be done as a formality but as forums where real issues are discussed, and people do not shy away from having difficult conversations.

Where the performance of staff is not up to par, the manager should not let the wound fester. Instead, a quick resolution ought to be sought depending on the laid down performance procedures. Performance discussions can be dicey but when they are done in a timely fashion based on previously set expectations, they become easier to handle.

The key is to ensure that there are no surprises on the part of the employee. The employee should have been privy to their performance gaps. The discussions should also be based on fact and not hearsay and as much as possible on current issues and not long-forgotten historical issues whose dates cannot be tracked.

There can also be disciplinary issues that may arise. As in the case of performance, these need to be addressed at the earliest otherwise they become an ulcer that does not go away, and if it does, it leaves a wound that may need regular tending. Disciplinary conversations are some of the hardest conversations to have with staff, if not the hardest but as long as the relevant laws are abided by, it makes for an easier process. The other key aspect is to separate the issue from the person. Regardless of the matter at hand, always regard the person as a human being and safeguard his/her integrity.

With these simple steps, there would be no room for performance punishment. Great performers will shine through and will be rewarded accordingly and those that are struggling will be shown the way they should go humanely. Individual staff will pull their weight and collectively, the team will not only perform well but will look out for one another and keep one another accountable.

The writer is an HR Professional with 12 years of experience drawing her experience from the Education sector, Sanitation and Waste Management, Insurance sector and currently the Water and Energy sector where she serves as a Senior HR Manager