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In the Apr. 20 Career Corner, "Dealing with bad apples," Dr. Paul Radde, a Washington-based psychologist, suggested how a first-line supervisor could deal with a poor performer. The supervisor was having trouble getting her manager to support disciplinary actions.

Dr. Tom Hilton, a social science analyst for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, wrote me to suggest a way the supervisor could deal with the problem employee without going head-to-head with her superior. Hilton has more than 25 years of research and management experience in the military and government.

Here are his ideas, which do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or the Department of Health and Human Services.

One of the greatest challenges faced by a first-line supervisor is learning how to enroll higher-level management in support of your actions.

The vast majority of federal employees perform their jobs exceptionally well. However, on rare occasion, an employee's performance may be unacceptable. When allowed to persist, the performance and morale of the entire work unit may erode. Numerous procedural requirements must be met to ensure that federal employees are separated from government service solely because of poor performance. You need your manager's support not only to uphold your authority, but also to sustain against any appeals or grievances that may be filed as a result of an adverse personnel action.

When managers appear to be slow to act on recommendations to discipline or separate a poor performer, it is often because of differences in perceptions. They simply may not be convinced that all reasonable steps have been taken to justify your proposed action. Granted, some managers might also be apprehensive about the reactions of superiors or even those of the poor performer. Regardless of the reasons for management hesitation, causal factors affecting poor performance should be investigated to rule out unfairness factors. These can include discrimination, harassment, physical disability, illness, family problems, inadequate training, unclear performance standards and miscommunication between the supervisor and the employee. Once unfairness factors can reasonably be ruled out, both you and your manager will have substantial justification for attributing the cause of the performance problem to the employee.

Here are a few tips for dealing with poor performers. They come courtesy of the proverbial school of hard knocks, whose alumni I selectively polled in the course of preparing this article. These tips might help to avoid the need for separation. However, if separation becomes necessary, these tips can help to build the management support you will need to remove a poor performer.

First, inform your manager as soon as performance seems to call for intervention, even if you want to try to handle it alone. Poor performance rarely bursts onto the scene. More often, it slowly engulfs you like oozing quicksand. Waiting until you are waist deep in a problem before you ask for help can reflect on your judgment. Moreover, delay may be misperceived as not valuing your boss's advice. In any case, deferring manager involvement cuts you off from coaching that can both help you to avoid mistakes and build your manager's support.

Second, keep your cool and keep a record. Do not let your frustration and disappointment lead to hasty actions or statements to anybody. Be especially factual and concise in your interactions with anyone regarding the matter, regardless of what their job title or stated organizational role. Anything you do or say, including to peers and other employees, can be used to support a grievance or appeal. Therefore, it is best to start a written log of everything you do or say about the performance problem. If things improve, file the log. Do not discard it.

Third, get help if performance does not improve. You might seek advice from trusted others. If you have a mentor, seek their guidance and support. Definitely review with your manager the criteria by which you ruled out unfairness factors as causes for unacceptable performance. Recount what you have done so far, and ask for coaching. Also, ask your manager to collaborate on a timetable for (a) ruling out all unfairness factors, (b) coaching and counseling the poor performer, and (c) taking action to separate should performance not improve. Next, arrange a meeting with an employee relations specialist for advice on how to proceed if the poor performer does not improve. You might also take the time to explore available resources on OPM's poor performance web page at www.opm.gov/perform/poor/.

Finally, do not risk losing your manager as an ally. Accept that your two timetables and list of priorities will differ. You want to build management support, not lose what support you may have at present. Making demands for accelerated action, or threatening to elevate matters to higher authority, is unlikely to have a positive affect on the situation. Moreover, you risk alienating your boss at a time when you most need his or her support. In the long run, attempts to pressure those above you rarely result in the intended outcome.

These tips can help to build a good working relationship with your manager when dealing with poor performers. They also might give rise to some constructive coaching on performance improvement. Helping people to do their best is what supervising is all about.

Kathryn Kraemer has been the president of The Resume Place, Inc. for 27 years. Kathryn helps people get promoted and change jobs. She is the pioneer designer of the new "federal resume." She wrote and published the first book on federal resume writing and is a popular resume writing workshop leader in government.

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