What can you do if someone’s work isn’t good enough?
You’ve delegated a task to a colleague. They’ve been working on it without needing any help from you – or so it seemed. Finally, the time comes for you to review what they’ve done. Frankly, the work isn’t up to the standard required. What can you do?
First of all, well done for getting past first base and actually delegating something; lots of managers struggle with the very idea of handing a job over to someone else. When the work’s just not good enough there are several possible explanations. For example, the person you delegated to:
- Didn’t appreciate the standard required (possibly because you didn’t show them or the example given wasn’t sufficiently clear).
- Didn’t have the skills necessary to complete the task to the right standard (and didn’t want to own up to that).
- Wasn’t given enough time to get the job done right, or couldn’t see how long it would take to get done right.
- Got side-tracked doing something else and then rushed the job.
Maybe, just maybe, some of these possible reasons could be down to how you delegated the task. Did you give them an example? Examples are the Swiss army knife of delegation: they show what’s needed and the standard required, saving you both heaps of time trying to explain and understand. Did you ask open questions to check the person has the requisite skills to do the job? Did you clarify how long the task typically takes, and allow for the fact that learners take longer? Did you discuss the person’s workload and priorities and clarify timing and deadlines? Another ‘well done’ if you can answer ‘yes’ to all these questions. And if you answered ‘no’ to any of them, you may want to refer to these handy ‘10 delegation tips’.
But what if you’ve got the delegation discussion right, the person was given examples, has the skills, was given the time, etc. – and they simply didn’t do a good enough job?
Take one or some of these six steps:
1. Ask them to identify how they think their work is similar and different to the example given – it may be they’ll figure out for themselves where they’ve gone off course. If they can’t see a difference, you will need to point this out and explain really clearly.
2. Ask them to outline the steps they took to complete the task – they may have missed some out. You will need to coach them to identify cause and effect of missed steps and lower quality.
3. Ask how long it took them to do the work. If they confess they rushed it, you can ask them how long they now need to get it right – and how long they’ll allow to get it right first time, next time.
4. Ask them what they found easy (if anything) and what they found difficult. It may be their skills aren’t as developed as they thought and you were led to believe. Discuss with them how they can boost those skills with practice and feedback.
5. Ask them what they’ll do differently next time to hit the required standard.
6. Ask them what support they need from you to get the task done.
Notice that all these suggestions begin with ‘ask them’. If you care about the work and quality, it will be all too easy for you to hog the mic and lecture the hapless colleague about how to do the job right. But engaging the team member in conversation in a way that helps them to figure out the solutions for themselves will be much more likely to benefit both of you in the long run. Don’t interrogate them; allow them to consider their answers – and as they do so, they’ll learn. You’ll be coaching the person rather than reprimanding them. They’ll be more motivated and likely to take greater responsibility for getting it right, next time.
You may find this blog post useful: Are you delegating, dumping or micro-managing?
Dawn is the author of ‘The Feedback Book’ and ‘How to be Zoomly at work’
Copyright Zoomly
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