Turning Around Underperforming Employees: 9 Strategies That Work

Employee engagement plummeted to its lowest level in over a decade in 2024, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report. When talented people start underperforming, many managers reach for the exit strategy instead of the intervention toolkit. The truth? Most underperformers aren’t lazy or incapable. They’re struggling with clarity, motivation, or circumstances managers haven’t yet uncovered.

This matters because replacing a single employee costs 50-200% of their annual salary in direct and indirect expenses, according to research from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). A mid-level professional earning $70,000 annually represents a replacement cost of $35,000 to $140,000. That’s precisely why developing underperforming employees delivers measurable ROI that dismissal simply cannot match.

Start With a Diagnostic Conversation

Before implementing any performance improvement plan, managers need to understand the root cause. Underperformance rarely stems from a single issue. It could be unclear expectations, inadequate resources, personal challenges, skill gaps, or misalignment with company culture. McKinsey research from 2024 found that 62% of managers never have structured conversations about performance expectations with their direct reports.

Schedule a private, judgment-free conversation. Ask specific questions: “Walk me through your typical workday—where do you feel most stuck?” Listen more than you talk. According to CultureAmp’s 2024 Employee Experience report, employees who feel heard by their manager are 3.2x more likely to increase performance. Document what you learn. Use tools like SAP SuccessFactors or Workday to track these conversations and create a factual baseline for improvement.

The diagnostic phase typically takes 2-3 weeks. This investment prevents wasted resources on irrelevant interventions.

Diagnostic conversations reveal the true root causes of underperformance, not assumptions.

Set Clear, Measurable Performance

Targets

Vague expectations guarantee failure. Instead of “improve quality,” establish concrete metrics: “reduce defect rate from 8% to 4% by Q2” or “increase sales call conversion from 12% to 18% within 90 days.” Deloitte’s 2024 research on performance management found that 71% of organizations using specific, measurable goals see measurable performance improvement within six months.

Break annual goals into monthly checkpoints. If an employee needs to boost productivity by 25%, that means approximately 2% improvement weekly. This makes the climb feel achievable rather than insurmountable. Transparency matters enormously here—share the exact targets, timelines, and success criteria upfront.

Use performance management platforms like BambooHR or 15Five to make these goals visible and track progress weekly. Employees with transparent performance tracking increase output by an average of 16%, according to Gartner’s 2024 Performance Management Benchmark study.

Breaking annual goals into measurable monthly and weekly targets makes improvement achievable.

Provide Targeted Skill Development

Sometimes underperformance reveals a genuine skill gap. A sales representative might struggle with consultative selling techniques. A project manager might lack advanced scheduling knowledge. The solution isn’t punishment—it’s investment.

Conduct a skills assessment within the first two weeks. What specific capabilities does this employee lack? Enroll them in relevant training. According to LinkedIn’s 2024 Workplace Learning Report, companies investing in upskilling underperforming employees recovered 73% of them to full productivity within 12 months. The learning programs lasted an average of 8-12 weeks at a cost of $2,500-$5,000 per employee.

Consider multiple learning formats: one-on-one coaching, online courses, peer mentoring, or certification programs. A financial analyst struggling with advanced Excel skills might benefit from a 3-week online course ($299) plus two hours of weekly one-on-one coaching. The combined investment of roughly $3,500 prevents a $70,000-$140,000 replacement cost.

Implement Frequent Feedback Cycles

Annual reviews miss the window for meaningful course correction. Underperforming employees need feedback at minimum twice monthly, ideally weekly. This frequency enables real-time adjustment rather than surprised employees learning about problems at year-end.

Structure these conversations using a simple formula: observation, impact, expectation. Example: “I noticed you missed the last three client deadlines. This impacts client satisfaction scores, which directly affect your commission and the team’s reputation. I need to see all deliverables completed by 3 PM on the agreed date.” This approach avoids personality judgment while creating absolute clarity about the issue and its consequences.

According to research from Harvard Business Review’s 2024 Management Report, teams receiving weekly performance feedback show 30-day improvement rates of 58%, compared to 19% for teams receiving quarterly feedback only. The frequency compounds improvements exponentially.

Use pulse survey tools integrated into platforms like Workday or Lattice to gather quick feedback on progress. Five-minute weekly check-ins beat hour-long monthly meetings.

Weekly feedback cycles enable real-time course correction versus year-end surprises.

Create an Accountability Partner

System

Peer mentorship accelerates improvement by creating social accountability and practical support. Assign the underperformer a mentor—ideally a high performer in the same role or department who recently solved similar challenges. This isn’t the manager; it’s a trusted colleague.

The mentor meets with the struggling employee for 30-45 minutes biweekly to discuss specific challenges, share techniques, and normalize the improvement process. Research from the International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching (2024) found that mentored underperformers achieved performance targets at rates 44% higher than non-mentored peers.

A software developer struggling with code quality might be paired with a senior developer who completed a similar journey. They can walk through actual code together, discuss debugging approaches, and share productivity tools. This practical, peer-to-peer support often resonates more than formal training.

Increase Manager Visibility and

Support

Underperforming employees often feel isolated and unsupported. Managers must shift from distant oversight to active partnership. This means more frequent one-on-ones, greater accessibility, and visible investment in the employee’s success.

Schedule 30-minute weekly check-ins instead of the standard monthly cadence. During these meetings, focus on obstacles first: “What’s blocking you this week? How can I help remove that barrier?” This demonstrates genuine commitment rather than surveillance.

According to Gallup’s 2024 engagement research, employees who have frequent, supportive manager interactions show 37% higher engagement and 41% lower turnover. For underperformers specifically, this support often makes the difference between turnaround and exit.

Clarify Role Expectations and Remove

Obstacles

Sometimes underperformance results from fuzzy role definitions or structural barriers. An employee might be excellent at their actual core responsibilities but assigned to too many peripheral tasks. A team member might lack access to tools or information others take for granted.

Conduct a role audit: document every responsibility, time spent, and resource availability. Is this employee clear on their top three priorities? Do they have the tools, budget, and authority needed to succeed? Forrester’s 2024 Workforce Productivity study found that 44% of underperformance stemmed from unclear priorities and role confusion, not capability issues.

Remove unnecessary meetings, streamline approvals, or provide access to better tools. If a customer service representative spends 40% of their day hunting information in outdated systems, upgrading their CRM can immediately boost productivity by 20-30%. One manufacturing company provided underperforming supervisors with real-time production data dashboards; visibility alone increased their scheduling efficiency by 28% within 60 days.

Monitor Emotional and Environmental

Factors

Personal challenges—health issues, family stress, financial worries, or burnout—often drive underperformance. Managers should create space for honest discussion without prying inappropriately.

Ask open questions: “Is everything okay? Have things changed recently?” Many underperformers feel relieved to discuss underlying challenges. An employee dealing with a parent’s illness might need temporary flexibility. Someone experiencing anxiety might benefit from mental health resources. A person struggling with work-life balance might need adjusted hours or workload temporarily.

“Employee engagement dropped to 32% globally in 2024, the lowest in over a decade, with stress and unclear expectations cited as leading factors by 67% of disengaged employees.” — Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2024

According to the American Psychological Association’s 2024 Workplace Stress Survey, organizations offering mental health support and flexible arrangements recovered 56% of stress-related underperformers within six months. Access to mental health resources costs organizations $300-$800 per employee annually, yet returns $3-$5 in productivity gains per dollar invested.

Check in on burnout specifically. An employee working 55-hour weeks while peers work 40 hours will naturally underperform. Sometimes the intervention is workload redistribution, not skill training.

Document Progress and Make Data-Driven

Decisions

Throughout the improvement period, document everything in writing. Record conversation dates, specific feedback given, goals set, support provided, and employee response. This creates a factual record essential for either celebrating turnarounds or making difficult termination decisions later.

Use dedicated performance management software like 15Five, Namely, or SuccessFactors to centralize this documentation. These platforms timestamp entries, create audit trails, and prevent accusations of unfairness. Organizations using structured documentation report 64% more successful performance improvement plans (PIP), according to SHRM’s 2024 Performance Management survey.

Set a clear review point—typically 60-90 days. At that checkpoint, evaluate concrete metrics: Has the employee met the agreed targets? What progress shows? What obstacles remain? This data-driven assessment removes emotion from the decision.

Make the Final Decision With Clarity

After 90 days, three outcomes are possible: turnaround (employee meets targets), gradual improvement (on track but needs extension), or sustained underperformance (targets not met despite support).

If the employee succeeds, celebrate the win and reinforce the behaviors that drove improvement. This creates positive momentum. If they’re on track but need more time, extend the plan with adjusted targets. If they’ve failed to respond despite clear support, documentation enables confident dismissal without legal vulnerability.

Research from the Center for American Progress (2024) shows that employees who complete successful performance improvement plans stay 23% longer with their employer than those who don’t face formal intervention. The intervention itself creates clarity that either motivates change or accelerates an amicable separation.

The investment in turning around underperformers—typically $5,000-$15,000 per person including coaching, training, and management time—returns multiples when successful. But even when separation becomes necessary, structured support demonstrates organizational fairness and protects the company legally.

For HR leaders and managers operating in Ukraine and across Eastern Europe, where talent retention costs run 40% higher due to competitive markets, these intervention strategies deliver exceptional ROI. Start with diagnosis, apply targeted development, and track progress systematically. The difference between recovering a talented employee and replacing them spans six figures.