An Employee Performance Diagnostic Checklist

Introduction

The purpose of a performance diagnostic checklist is to identify issues that may be affecting employee productivity. The checklist can be used to pinpoint areas where employees may need additional training or support or to identify organizational or process issues that may be affecting performance and ways to counter them. This essay analyzes how lack of time, poor comprehension and definition of tasks, insufficient resources, lack of skills and motivation, and prioritization of tasks contribute to the untimely accomplishment of tasks by workers.

Work Performance Issue: Meeting Work Deadlines

There are a few performance-related issues that could benefit from the application of a performance diagnostic checklist. One problem is the employee’s inability to work within provided task deadlines. This can be due to various reasons, such as not having enough time to complete the task, not understanding the job, or not having the necessary resources (Merritt et al., 2019). A performance diagnostic checklist can help identify the problem’s root cause and develop a plan to address it. For example, if the problem is that the employee does not have enough time to complete the task, the checklist can help to identify ways to make the job easier or more efficient.

Moreover, if an employee struggles with understanding the job, the list can identify ways to make the task straightforward. Additionally, in case an employee does not have the necessary resources needed to accomplish an activity, the checklist can pinpoint ways to get the resources (Merritt et al., 2019). The plan should include a timeline for implementing the changes and a way to measure whether or not the changes are effective.

Antecedents and Information

After exploring the issue of work delivery lateness, the supervisor identified a couple of issues that contributed to it, including:

Lack of Time

The performance diagnostic checklist can help identify this issue by looking at the employee’s workload and seeing if they are working on too many tasks simultaneously. The employee had too many tasks to handle, making it challenging to meet them on time (Merritt et al., 2019). Other workers were engaged in other commitments, such as family or personal obligations, while others worked on other tasks of a higher priority, failing to complete some less urgent tasks.

Poor Understanding of Tasks

There are a few reasons why the employee failed to understand some activities. First, some employees might not have had clear, concise instructions. Thus, they struggle to make sense of the instructions, which may consume much of their time, leaving them with little time to complete it. Secondly, the instructions might be too complex for the worker to comprehend. Hence, the employee does more research to understand the task before working on it (Brown et al., 2020). This can take much of their time, resulting in lateness.

Lack of Resources

There is also a concern about the lack of enough resources required to accomplish a task. This can happen if they are not ordered in time or if there is a delay in receiving them (Haq et al., 2021). It can also occur if the position requires more resources than initially anticipated or if some resources are unsuitable for the task (Haq et al., 2021). Moreover, some workers lack access to resources, delaying their task accomplishment.

Poorly Defined Task

This can be due to several factors, such as the task being too vague, the duty not having clear objectives, or the task not being aligned with the organization’s goals. If a task is not aligned with the goals of the organization, it can be difficult to see how it fits into the overall picture (Pampino et al., 2004). This can lead to the task being given lower priority and can ultimately result in the task not being completed on time. Poorly defined tasks can also lead to confusion and frustration, further slowing down work.

Prioritization of Tasks

Prioritizing tasks can contribute to work delivery lateness in a few ways. First, if the most critical tasks are not prioritized, they may not be completed in time. Second, if functions are not adequately prioritized, less essential duties may take up more time than necessary, leading to a build-up of work that eventually becomes overwhelming (Sultan & Nag, 2020). Finally, suppose workers do not clearly understand which tasks are most important. In that case, they may waste time on tasks that are not needed, leading to a delay in completing more essential tasks.

Lack of Necessary Skills

Lack of Necessary Skills can contribute to work delivery lateness in a few ways. One way is if an individual does not have the specific skills required to complete a task, they will likely take longer. This can cause delays in work delivery if the individual is working on a time-sensitive task. Additionally, a lack of necessary skills can contribute to work delivery lateness if an individual cannot complete a task to the required standards (Pampino et al., 2004). This can result in the need for the job to be redone or for additional support to be provided, which can further delay work delivery.

Equipment and Process

A thorough review of the equipment and process determined that the workers lacked enough resources, they were poorly paid, and there was too much work presented for every worker than they could handle within the given time. Moreover, there are few workers, which means more workload for each employee. However, some workers take advantage of performing their own activities during work periods, failing to accomplish their duties. Most supervisors assume that workers understand what is expected of them, leading to poor definitions of activities.

Knowledge and Skills-Training

After conducting an interview with every worker, most claimed that they had too much workload such that they had to use up their free time and weekends working on them. Some workers undertook the requirements of some tasks, while others did not. A great percentage of employees claimed to receive guidance when needed from their managers, with a small percentage being uncooperative with assistance. Additionally, most employees had the required skills to accomplish given activities but lacked enough guidance and opportunities to sharpen their skills.

Consequences

As a result of many tasks lagging behind set deadlines, many projects are similarly unfinished. The organization has to handle many programs at once, overwhelming the workers, management and supervisors. Besides, there is the high cost associated with delaying projects, and thus they end up causing losses to the institution. There is also a rising employee turnover as workers seek a place with more work-life balance.

Solutions

One solution to meet the issue of insufficient time is to prioritize the tasks that the employee is working on. This can be done by looking at the deadlines for each task and prioritizing the tasks that are due sooner (Brown et al., 2020). Another solution is to delegate some of the jobs to other employees. This can help to lighten the employee’s workload and allow them to focus on the more essential tasks. Furthermore, Employees should receive clear and concise instructions regarding their tasks. These instructions should be provided in a manner that the employees can understand. The company should set precise and clear attainable goals for its activities with reasonable deadlines.

To counter the issue of a poor supply of resources, management can ensure that the resources required for the work are ordered in advance. Another solution is to increase the budget for the job so that more resources can be purchased. Finally, the employee should be given access to the resources they need to complete the work. Tasks should be well-defined from the start of a project or activity (Fleming & Kowalsky, 2021). This means being clear about what needs to be done, what the deadlines are, and what the deliverables should be.

Additionally, it can be helpful to break down tasks into smaller, more manageable pieces. This can make it easier to stay on track and avoid getting overwhelmed. Task prioritization can be solved using a work management system to help track and prioritize activities (Haq et al., 2021). This will ensure that employees know which tasks must be completed first and can help avoid late work delivery.

Another solution is to have a meeting at the beginning of each day or week to review what tasks need to be completed and prioritize them. This will ensure that everyone is on the same page and knows what needs to be done. Training and offering development opportunities for workers is one way to curb this concern (Fleming & Kowalsky, 2021). This can help them to acquire the necessary skills to complete their tasks more quickly and efficiently. Additionally, managers can also provide clear and concise instructions to workers to help them avoid making mistakes.

Conclusion

There are a few critical performance-related issues that can be addressed with the use of a performance diagnostic checklist. These include poor meeting of work deadlines, lack of understanding of tasks, lack of resources, and poorly defined tasks. Using a performance diagnostic checklist, managers and supervisors can identify the root cause of these problems and develop a plan to address them. This can help improve employee productivity and work quality, leading to better work delivery.

References

Brown, C. V. R., Joseph, B. A., Davis, K., & Jurkovich, G. J. (2020). Modifiable factors to improve work-life balance for trauma surgeons. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 90(1), 122–128. Web.

Fleming, R. S., Kowalsky, M. (2021). The importance of meeting deadlines. In: Survival Skills for Thesis and Dissertation Candidates. Springer Texts in Education. Springer, Cham. Web.

Haq, I. U., De Clercq, D., & Azeem, M. U. (2021). Job insecurity, work‐induced mental health deprivation, and timely completion of work tasks. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 60(2), 405–428. Web.

Merritt, T. A., DiGennaro Reed, F. D., & Martinez, C. E. (2019). Using the performance diagnostic checklist–human services to identify an indicated intervention to decrease employee tardiness. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 52 (4), 1034-1048. Web.

Pampino, R. N., Heering, P. W., Wilder, D. A., Barton, C. G., & Burson, L. M. (2004). The use of the performance diagnostic checklist to guide intervention selection in an independently owned coffee shop. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 23(2-3), 5–19. Web.

Sultan, T., & Nag, N. (2020). Work-health balance: Characterizing short-term and long-term impact to health. MindRxiv Papers. Web.

Performance Diagnostic Checklist
ANTECEDENTS AND INFORMATION Yes No
is there a written job description telling exactly what is expected of the employee?
Has the employee received adequate instruction about what to do?
(Instructions like: “I want you to do this and this before we leave today”)
Are employees aware of the mission of the department/organization?
If yes, can they tell you what that mission is?
Are there job or task aids in the employees’ immediate environment?
If yes, are those aids visible while completing the task in question?
Are there reminders to prompt the task at the correct time/duration?
Is the supervisor present during task completion?
Are there frequently updated, challenging and attainable goals that employees are comfortable with?
If yes, do employees feel these goals are fair?
EQUIPMENT AND PROCESSES Yes No
If equipment is required, is it reliable?
Is it in good working order?
Is it ergonomically correct?
Is the equipment and environment optimally arranged in a physical sense?
Are larger processes suffering from certain incomplete tasks along the way (process disconnects)?
Are these processes arranged in a logical manner, without unnecessary repetition?
Are these processes maximally efficient?
Are there any other obstacles that are keeping the employee from completing the task?
KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS-TRAINING Yes No
Can the employee tell you what he/she is supposed to be doing and how to do it?
If yes, have they mastered the task?
If fluency is necessary, are they fluent?
Can the employee physically demonstrate completion of the task?
Does the employee have the capacity to learn how to complete the task?
CONSEQUENCES Yes No
Are there consequences delivered contingent on the task?
Frequency?
Immediacy?
Consistency/probability?
positive or negative?
Are there Premack reinforcem?
Do employees see the effects of performance?
If yes, How? natural? arranged?
Do supervisors deliver feedback?
If yes, written or verbal? (circle one) other
Direct or indirect?circle one) other
Is there performance monitoring?
If yes, self-supervisor direct-supervisor indirect(circle one)
Is there a response effort associated with the performance?
Are there other behaviors competing with the desired performance?
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