Engineering manager

The problem

As an engineering manager, you may face several pain points related to underperforming or toxic employees.

  • Underperforming employees can slow down project completion, which can negatively impact your team's timelines and milestones.

  • The presence of toxic employees in your team can cause a decrease in morale, leading to decreased productivity and engagement from team members.

  • Toxic employees can impact the productivity of your entire team, leading to missed deadlines and lower output.

  • Underperforming or toxic employees can cause a lack of trust among team members, leading to communication breakdowns and conflicts.

  • Working in a negative environment with underperforming or toxic employees can cause high employee turnover, making it challenging to retain top talent and maintain an efficient team.

Why it’s important to address this problem

As an engineering manager, it's crucial for you to address underperforming and toxic employees in your team. These employees can have a significant negative impact on team morale, productivity, and company culture. They can also create legal risks and damage the company's reputation. Failure to address these issues can lead to increased employee turnover, decreased customer satisfaction, and ultimately, lower revenue and profits for the company.

Additionally, dealing with underperforming or toxic employees can be a time-consuming and challenging task for managers and leaders, taking away valuable time and resources that could be better used elsewhere in the company. Therefore, it's important for you to address these issues quickly and effectively to maintain a healthy and productive workplace.

How do some engineering managers handle the problem today?

  • Some managers may confront the underperforming or toxic employee without a clear plan for improvement, which can result in the employee becoming defensive or resistant to change.

  • Some managers may believe that providing additional technical training is the solution to performance issues. However, soft skills, such as communication and problem-solving, are just as important. Focusing only on technical skills can lead to missed opportunities for improving overall performance.

  • Some managers may focus only on the underperforming or toxic employee, without considering how the larger team or company culture may be contributing to the problem.

  • Some managers may delay taking action to address the problem, which can lead to a negative impact on team morale and productivity.

These approaches don’t work well because they fail to address the root causes of the problem and may even make the situation worse. Confronting an underperforming or toxic employee without a clear plan or ignoring the problem can create a more adversarial relationship between the manager and employee, leading to further resentment and potentially worsening performance. Focusing solely on the employee without considering the larger team or company culture can also lead to a failure to address the root causes of the problem. Finally, delaying action can cause the problem to escalate, leading to further negative impact on team morale and productivity.

How can ManageBetter help?

ManageBetter can provide you with tools and resources to effectively address the pain points related to underperforming or toxic employees on your engineering team. Here are some ways ManageBetter can help.

  • We focuses on improving the specific soft skill areas that require development for each team member. For example, soft skills that are important to engineers include communication, problem-solving, adaptability, and time management. We can help you identify and develop the specific skills your engineers need to improve on to be successful in their roles and contribute to the team's success.

  • We provide personalized suggestions for improvement that are tailored to each individual team member's needs. This ensures that your team members are receiving the specific training they need to improve their soft skills to enhance their overall performance.

  • We can help you gather feedback from internal stakeholders your engineers often work with, including product managers, quality assurance, project managers, data analysts, and other engineers. This allows you to identify and quickly address cross-functional barriers and challenges.

  • With ManageBetter, engineering managers can ensure that their training efforts are effective and their team is achieving the desired outcomes for the company's success. This leads to better results, improved productivity, and a more successful team.

ManageBetter is a valuable tool for you as an engineering manager looking to improve your team's performance and address challenges related to underperforming or toxic employees. We empowers you to achieve top-notch team performance and make informed decisions.