When to begin counseling. Counseling should begin just as soon as a problem is identified. The point at which performance first begins to slip is when employees are most open to discussing improvement. Employees are much more able to improve performance without the risk of dismissal hanging over their heads. Also, addressing performance problems early indicates to other employees that poor performance will not be tolerated. Along with training on when to begin counseling, managers need to learn how to provide frequent and specific feedback, and the necessity of documenting every major discussion for future reference, if necessary.

How to get at the root cause of the problem. First, managers need to know how to differentiate between misconduct and poor performance. As OPM defines it, misconduct is failure to follow a workplace rule (such as tardiness or absenteeism); poor performance is the failure of an employee to do his or her job at an acceptable level. Next, the manager must understand how to identify the root cause of the problem, whether it is a skill/training problem, an attitude problem, or a personal problem. And, finally, the manager needs to understand the best strategies to deal with the problem based on its root cause.

How to give constructive criticism. No one reacts well to critical messages and personal attacks, particularly an employee whose performance is slipping. Constructive discussion of problems is difficult, but modeling and practice can go a long way to helping managers improve in this area.

How to "manage up." One commonly cited concern of managers of poor performers is fear of not being backed up by their own managers. Each organization has its own expectations around how and when to communicate about poor performance up the line. Human capital leaders can help allay supervisors' and managers' fears about upward communication by training them on the precise organizational communication expectations as well as more generally on good upward communications.