Coaching someone where it might not help..
We have this new employee who has been with us for almost three months. She is having a hard time remembering how to do things. I ask her how things are going and if she understands everything we have taught her and she says yes. The problem is, she doesn't. She is making little mistakes that are causing more work for others. If I ask her if she understands a certain thing she still says yes even if she doesn't. She is very hard to coach and not sure what else I should do.
Personally, I would do an official evaluation on the employee then offer coaching.
It defiinitely sounds like there is disconnect. At this point, you may need to evaluate her understanding as it seems to be part of the problem. Does she even understand the mistakes she is making or does she believe she is doing everything correctly? It sounds like she may have never understood the expectations from the beginning, back to training and/or unless it is a behavior issue.
Maybe it is not a matter of the employee being able to understand. She may understand well. However, it may be time to evaluate the delivery of the expectations. To understand is not always a problem since many of us can understand. However, when the expectations are not clearly delivered, a receiver may not be on the same page as the deliverer. This may result in exactly what the employee is displaying. Therefore, I recommend going back to the delivery of the training. Additionally, having the employee prepare a step by step cheat sheet may help eliminate some of the things being missed. As a new employee, stress and fear may hinder ones ability to be efficient as well. I would investigate the situation further and rule out any learning challenges too. Good luck!
