Addressing missed agreements with an employee
An employee has not followed through on an agreement and the team is feeling the impact. You want to be clear about the required result without assuming in advance that the problem is unwillingness.
SPAALO editorial team · · General conversation support
Discuss the agreed task and the specific gap, explore what prevented delivery and make a new agreement with support and a clear review point.
Three practical actions
Prepare one specific situation
Establish what result was agreed, when it was due and what you actually observed. Choose a calm, private conversation. Avoid collecting unrelated irritations without clear examples.
Explore the cause and clarify the expectation
Ask how the employee understood the agreement and what got in the way. Distinguish unclear instructions, missing resources, insufficient skill and failure to carry out a clear agreement. Discuss what you need to arrange as their manager.
Agree delivery and follow-up
Specify who does what, when the result is due and when you will check together whether it is working. Agree that obstacles should be raised before the deadline. Ask the employee to summarise the agreement in their own words.
What you can say
Use words that feel natural to you and replace the details with what is happening in your situation.
We agreed that the handover would be ready before the end of the shift. Yesterday it was missing, so the next team did not have the information. What happened?
What do you need to be able to do this at the agreed time? And which part can you organise yourself?
From Monday, you will complete the handover before the end of your shift. If anything blocks you, tell me straight away. On Wednesday we will review together whether this is working.
What changes with your circumstances?
It is the first time
First check whether the agreement was clear and achievable. A recovery agreement and explanation may be more appropriate than immediately discussing consequences.
It happens repeatedly
Refer to previous specific agreements and reviews. Explore why the earlier solution did not work and record the next step in line with the applicable people policies.
You coordinate work without line management authority
Discuss the operational agreement, but leave formal employment steps to the authorised manager. Make that division of responsibilities clear.
If the conversation is still not moving forward
Follow through on the review yourself. Acknowledge improvement when it is visible. If delivery is still missing, discuss the pattern and agree an appropriate next step with the authorised manager or HR. Also examine your own role in planning, resources and clarity.
A pitfall to avoid
Avoid character judgements such as “you are unmotivated”. Do not threaten measures you have no authority to take, or postpone a necessary conversation until frustration takes over.
Make it specific to your role.
Which agreement was missed, what was the impact and are you the line manager or the operational coordinator?
Describe it in the SPAALO app. Choose your role for practical guidance on what you can do and say. Do not include names or confidential information.
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