Managing Performance - General - Diversity and inclusion

2 Managing Performance

Jo | 0 Posts

23 Mar, 2022 14:58

Hi All,

We have an employee who - when we recruited him last year - told us that he had a mild form of autism. He was recruited initially to a fixed term post (because we weren't sure if we needed the post past six months - not related to his disability) but this was then made permanent. AT the point he was made permanent, he was trained to do the full job which didn't happen initially due to the fixed term nature of his post.

His manager has come to me his week saying that his output since we recruited him has been consistently below average. We have had conversations with him about speed and he has committed to improving but this hasn't happened. His probation was passed with a note about his output and speed. He passed his probation at the same time that his post was made permanent (and there is a question there or me as to whether we should have extended his probation period). It wasn't highlighted to me as a problem at that point and in fact he was described a a good employee who has great attention to detail - and as he works in an assembly department, this was a great asset. He is now described as someone who is often distant and isn't achieving results. He was moved to a different part of the assembly team to see if that helped but it hasn't. There is a belief that his autism may be the reason for this issue.

So I now have lots of questions for the manager regarding what we have done to help him improve, what have we said in terms of how well he is/isn't doing etc etc

I am of the view that we carry out the same kind of performance management plan as we would for anyone else, explaining our concerns and asking for his feedback as to why he feels his output is low. Also explaining our expectations and agreeing a plan for a way forward. Then asking him how he feels about this and whether he feels it is achievable. I would take the view that unless he tells us that his disability is impacting on his performance, we have to assume that it isn't. We can only act on this and consider adjustments if he offers this as a possible reason. Does this sound right? Have I missed anything?

Thank you

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Robey | 0 Posts

23 Mar, 2022 15:55

His probation was passed with a note about his output and speed.

If his output and speed were noted during probation but he was passed anyway, why was he passed through probation? His line manager needs to account for this.

He is now described as someone who is often distant and isn't achieving results.

Be extremely wary of conflating these two statements as you have here. His "distant" nature is of no bearing on his performance and suggests that you have already decided that his autism is responsible for his poor results. If he were distant but exceeding, would you care?

I am of the view that we carry out the same kind of performance management plan as we would for anyone else

I would take the view that unless he tells us that his disability is impacting on his performance, we have to assume that it isn't

No, because he has informed you about his disability and you already suspect it is influencing his performance. To pretend that he's "just another employee" would be to fail to make reasonable adjustments for a disability. If you didn't know he was autistic and had no reason to suspect it then this would be reasonable, but he has made it known to you. Therefore your performance management plan must be carried out with that awareness in mind and reasonable adjustments made accordingly regardless of whether he tells you it's his disability or not. Would you wait for a wheelchair user to point out that the reason he can't come in is because the doors are too narrow? Or for a deaf person to point out that the reason they're not answering the phone is because they can't hear it ring?

Now, of course that's a slightly facetious parallel because autism manifests in a range of different behaviours. But none of that means you get to pretend it doesn't exist.

Rather, you should ask him directly whether the targets that are being set for him are appropriate, given his disability. Remember that neurodiversity is, in general, an asset to any team. Tolerating a lower level of technical output from disabled employees is balanced out by the wider benefits of engagement and enthusiasm that tend to attach to workforces where physical and mental diversity are supported and encouraged. This is a time to think holistically about his place and value to the team and organisation rather than just about a single KPI.
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Jo | 0 Posts

23 Mar, 2022 17:43

In reply to Robey:
Thank you Robey - really useful comments. My suggestion that I would manage performance without reference to his disability is exactly so that we don't make assumptions. We don't know if it is the reason for his decreased performance so I assumed we would wait for him to tell us (not that I would carry on regardless and not take it into account at all). I suppose I'm wary about referencing his disability if this isn't the reason for the low performance since I don't know how his disability affects him. You suggest not, and that contrary to this, we should ask him if the output we are expecting is achievable in his specific situation? We should perhaps have asked him at the start of his employment what adjustments we might need to make - that would have started the conversation off on a better foot. I agree with your comments about probation which is why I also need to ask what discussion has taken place regarding that.
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