Assume you are tasked with providing written and verbal quarterly performance reviews for each of your employees. You have one particular review to do for an employee, Bob, whom you have a great working relationship with. One of Bob's primary responsibilities is to ensure that each outgoing shipment is complete, all items are free of defects, and there are no discrepancies in inventory. In the past few months, however, several customers have complained about the shipments. In two cases, nearly every item in a shipment contained defects. Another concerning factor is inventory has several major discrepancies. Upon further investigation, the orders in question fall under Bob's purview. Bob's overall quarterly performance is poor, and you need to address the problems.
Assume the role of the plant manager. The corporate office has tasked you with addressing solutions for these issues with Bob. For your initial discussion post, identify one of Bob's errors and propose a change that he must implement to avoid similar issues in the future. Provide a description of how you would support the employee through proposed changes using the principles of change management.
Sample Answer
Quarterly Performance Review: Shipments & Inventory Quality
To: Bob, Shipping & Inventory Lead From: Plant Manager Date: December 16, 2025
Bob, I value the strong working relationship we’ve built; your presence on the floor is a major part of our culture. However, our recent data shows significant challenges that we need to address immediately to protect our customer relationships and our bottom line.
1. Identified Performance Error: Quality Control Failure
The most critical error identified this quarter is the failure of the final inspection process. Specifically, two shipments reached customers where nearly every item was defective. These orders fell under your direct purview. This suggests that the "check-gate" designed to catch defects before they leave the dock is currently non-functional or being bypassed.
Proposed Change: Implementation of a Double-Verification Log
To resolve this, we are implementing a Double-Verification Quality Log. Moving forward, Bob, you must implement a "Second-Eye" protocol.
The Change: For every outgoing pallet, you will be required to complete a digital inspection checklist that requires a physical signature (or digital timestamp) from both yourself and a rotating floor lead.
Requirement: No shipment is to be cleared for loading until the "Zero-Defect" verification is uploaded to our central ERP system.
3. Support Through Change Management Principles
To help you transition through this change successfully, I will apply the following principles of the ADKAR Model (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement):
Shutterstock
Awareness & Desire: I will start by sharing the specific customer feedback and the financial impact of the defective shipments. I want you to understand that this change isn't about "policing" you, but about protecting your reputation and the plant’s standing with corporate. By understanding the "why," I hope to gain your buy-in for the new process.