When Good Employees Start Slipping
How to step in early, coach effectively, and protect your team before things unravel.
We’ve all been there. One of your rock-star employees, the person you brag about in performance reviews, starts to slip.
Work is late.
Errors creep into reports.
They’re ducking out early, strolling in late, taking extended strategic lunches… you get the idea.
And to top it off, another team member casually mentions it to you.
Oof.
Now the real question:
Was this a shock to you… or did you see it coming?
Be honest with yourself.
If it was a surprise, it’s usually because either:
You haven’t been meeting with them consistently enough to catch the micro-signals.
Or
If you did notice, you hoped it would resolve itself, well, that’s a leadership fantasy we’ve all fallen for. (Spoiler: it never resolves itself.)
Here’s the truth:
When a good employee slips, it’s rarely a “performance issue.” It’s usually a “pattern issue.”
And patterns don’t change without intervention.
The good news? You can absolutely turn this around—if you act early and lead intentionally.
Below is your manager-ready framework.
Key Steps for Managers (Your Real-World Playbook)
1. Don’t Delay
If you wait until the situation becomes “officially bad,” you’ve already lost valuable trust and momentum.
Address the slip quickly, not because you’re policing them, but because you actually care about their success and the team’s performance ecosystem. This is where you build your credibility—noticing things early and addressing them right away.
Pro tip:
Speed + empathy beats delayed confrontation every time.
2. Start with Open Communication
No dramatic energy. No “we need to talk” dread.
Just a calm, private conversation.
Try something like:
Manager: “Hey, I’ve noticed a few changes lately and wanted to check in. How are things going for you?”
Employee: Ok.
Manager: Can you tell me more about some of the changes I've noticed? I'd like to help and support you in any way I can. You're a good employee, and I want to see you stay on the path you were on before these changes.
Ask clarifying questions that don’t come off as prying but supportive and curious.
The tone should be: curious leader, not disappointed parent.
You’re here to understand, not interrogate.
3. Focus on Facts & Impact
Skip the personality commentary.
Go straight to what you’ve observed:
“The last two reports had missing data.”
“You’ve been late to three team meetings in the past week.”
Then connect it to the impact:
“It delays the team’s work.”
“It puts pressure on others to fill gaps.”
Keep it objective, measurable, and nonjudgmental.
4. Identify the Root Cause
This is where the conversation earns its ROI.
Possible causes include:
Burnout
Your highest performers burn out fastest—they rarely raise their hand until the tank is bone-dry.
Lack of challenge
When rock stars get bored, performance slips… quietly at first.
Personal issues
You don’t need their life story, but you do need to know if support or flexibility is appropriate.
This is where EAP is your friend.
Role misalignment
Sometimes slipping signals that the job is no longer a fit.
Leadership gaps
Yep—sometimes we're part of the problem. Unclear expectations, inconsistent communication, or piling on too much without realizing it.
Your job here is to find the “why,” not to prove a point.
5. Offer Support & Solutions
Think partnership, not punishment. Here’s what actual support looks like.
Coaching & Training
If the dip comes from missing skills, build those skills.
Performance coaching, buddy systems, or targeted training—whatever gets them back in the game.
Flexibility
If workload or personal challenges are creating strain, explore short-term flexibility without promising long-term exceptions.
Career Growth
Some employees slip because they’re not growing.
A conversation about long-term career goals can reignite engagement.
Recognition
High performers who slip often feel invisible.
Reinforce past wins and express belief in their ability to bounce back.
People rise to the level of belief you place in them.
6. Set Clear Expectations & Goals
Define what “back on track” actually looks like.
What needs to change
By when
How progress will be measured
What support you’ll provide
Ambiguity is the enemy of improvement.
7. Document Everything
Not as a “gotcha”—but as a strategic memory.
You’ll want:
Notes on conversations
Agreed-upon next steps
Dates for check-ins
Progress updates
Documentation protects both of you and keeps the coaching process grounded.
8. Follow Up & Reinforce
A one-and-done conversation won’t fix anything.
Schedule check-ins.
Acknowledge progress.
Course-correct early if things drift again.
When they make improvements—even small ones—celebrate it. People repeat what gets rewarded.
9. Consider External Factors
Sometimes the employee isn’t the problem—the environment is.
Ask yourself:
Does the workload make success possible?
Are team dynamics shifting?
Are company priorities unclear?
Are systems or tools making work harder than it needs to be?
Leadership isn’t just coaching individuals—it’s designing a healthy ecosystem.
The Hidden Cost When You Avoid the Issue
When a once-great employee starts slipping and you don’t address it, the fallout is bigger than one person’s performance dip. Here’s what actually happens:
Your team is impacted
The rest of the team slows down because one person is behind, late, or creating rework. Deadlines slip, projects drag, and efficiency takes a hit.
Everyone Else Picks Up the Slack
And trust me—your team notices.
Nothing tanks morale faster than cleaning up someone else’s mess on repeat.
Once the resentment sets in, you’ve got a whole new management problem on your hands.
Morale Tanks
Top performers want fairness.
If someone is missing targets with no accountability, the message to the team becomes:
“Excellence is optional.”
You never want that narrative taking root.
Customer Impact
Customers feel the dip—even when they’re not interacting directly with the struggling employee.
Slow responses, incomplete work, sloppy deliverables… it all chips away at trust.
Turnover Rises
Here’s the twist:
It’s not just the struggling employee who may leave.
Your best people will quit sooner because nothing drains high performers faster than a chronically unaddressed issue.
The team begins to wonder what is going on. If they looked up to that person, as an informal leader, the team morale sinks, and others think it’s time for them to move on.
Reputation Takes a Hit
This is the ripple effect. The employee's reputation takes a hit, and fair or not, an underperforming employee reflects on the manager. Once you have a reputation, it is hard to shake it.
And you’ve worked too hard to build your leadership brand to let that slide.
So you have the framework and the tools for the conversation, but what if… what if the employee pushes back? What happens when the employee gets defensive, denies there's an issue, or deflects?
Stay calm and factual.
Don't match their energy. If they get heated, you stay steady. Repeat what you observed: "I'm not questioning your intent. I'm pointing out that the last three reports had missing data. That's a fact we need to address."
Don't argue with their feelings.
If they say, "I feel like you're picking on me," don't debate whether they should feel that way. Acknowledge it and redirect: "I hear that. That's not my intention. My goal is to make sure you have what you need to succeed. Let's focus on what's changed and how we fix it."
Ask, don't accuse.
"Help me understand what's going on" works better than "Why is this happening?" The first invites dialogue. The second invites defensiveness.
Agree on a follow-up.
Even if the conversation doesn't land perfectly, lock in next steps: "Let's reconnect in three days. Between now and then, I'd like you to think about what support would be most helpful."
Remember: Pushback doesn't mean you're wrong. It often means you've hit a nerve—and that's where the real work begins.
When Coaching Isn't Enough (And It's Time to Escalate)
You've had the conversation. You've offered support. You've followed up.
And nothing's changed.
Or worse—things have gotten worse.
Here's the hard truth: not every performance issue can be coached away. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, the employee isn't willing or able to course-correct.
Signs it's time to escalate:
No improvement after multiple check-ins.
If you've given clear expectations, offered resources, and revisited progress—and the behavior hasn't shifted—it's no longer a coaching issue. It's a performance issue.The impact is spreading.
If their slip is now affecting deadlines, team morale, or customer satisfaction in a measurable way, you can't afford to keep "giving it time."They're not engaging.
If they're missing agreed-upon check-ins, brushing off feedback, or stonewalling your efforts to help, that's a signal. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink—or care.
What escalation looks like:
This is when you loop in HR (if you have it) or move to a formal performance improvement plan (PIP). Document everything: the conversations, the support offered, the lack of progress.
And here's the part newer managers struggle with: escalation isn't failure on your part. You gave them the tools, the clarity, and the chance. What they do with it is on them.
Your job is to protect the team, the work, and the standards. Sometimes that means making the tough call.
What Do You Tell the Team?
Here's the scenario: your slipping employee is back on track (great!), or they're not and you're managing them out (less great, but necessary). Either way, the rest of the team has noticed.
So what do you say?
If the employee is improving:
Say nothing publicly unless the team directly asks. A simple "We've addressed it, and things are moving in the right direction" is enough. Don't over-explain or throw the employee under the bus. Improvement should speak for itself.
If the employee is being managed out:
Keep it vague and professional: "We're working through some performance issues together. I appreciate your patience while we sort it out."
If they leave, a brief acknowledgment works: "As you know, [Name] is moving on. We're working on coverage and next steps."
What you never do:
Gossip about the situation
Share confidential details
Apologize for holding someone accountable
What you should do:
Reinforce standards with the whole team. In your next 1:1s or team meeting, remind everyone what excellence looks like and that you're committed to supporting it—and addressing when it slips.
The subtext your team needs to hear: "I see what's happening. I'm handling it. And the bar stays high."
That's how you protect morale while maintaining confidentiality.
The Bottom Line
Regular coaching and feedback, both formal and informal, can help reduce these situations. But, sometimes, things happen, and good employees start slipping. It’s not a disaster, it’s a leadership moment.
Handled well, you can:
Re-engage a great employee
Restore team morale
Strengthen your credibility
Prevent bigger fires down the road
Handled poorly (or not at all), you buy yourself a much more expensive problem later.
Early, honest, and supportive conversations? They win every time.
What's been your toughest 'good employee starts slipping' moment? I'd love to hear how you handled it—and what you'd do differently now. Drop a comment below. Let's learn from each other.
Navigating these conversations is where most managers get stuck—not because they don't care, but because they've never been shown how. If you want help building the confidence to lead these moments well, let's talk.
