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Handling a Problem Employee – No More Nonsense!
May 23, 2007
I’m often asked how to deal with all kinds of employee performance problems -everything from an employee who’s consistently late to someone who just can’t get along with their colleagues, to a willing but clueless newcomer, or of course, how to handle the one with the “attitude problem.” To handle them effectively, it’s essential to understand the nature of the problem – is it skills based, or is it behavioral?
Skills based performance problems are those that can typically be addressed by training and coaching. This does include customer service skills and selling skills, and if you’re hiring newcomers who have no previous experience in sales or customer service then you’d be wise not to underestimate the time and effort it will take on your part to train them in what you might consider to be the basics of the job. The reward for this will be a happy, productive employee who is motivated to stay because they understand how to be successful and they feel like they are learning. When in doubt, teach – learning is a very powerful motivator, particularly for Generation Y employees.
Behavior based problems on the other hand are the kind of employee performance issues that will not be fixed by training. A different approach is called for. Many of you may go for the “3 strikes and you’re out” model of discipline, which might very well work for you as long as you stick to it! If an employee is on their 4th or 5th strike and they’re still around then you’ve clearly sent a message that you tolerate bad behavior – lateness, rudeness, disrespect, a lack of ability to get on with colleagues and an “attitude problem” are all typical examples of behavioral issues.You have also, of course, sent that message not only to the offending employee, but all your other employees. Many business owners I have worked with over the years have a story about losing good people because they didn’t do enough to manage, or exit the bad ones. Your best talent retention strategy is a performance management one, so don’t tolerate nonsense, be firm, fair, clear and consistent.
To handle these issues, address them quickly, stating your expectation, the standards and describing how the behavior you have seen is unacceptable. For example:
“David, you are due to start work at 10am. It’s 10.30am now. I need to be able to rely on you to be here on time.If you’re running late for a genuine reason, I expect you to call me and let me know, but I don’t expect that to be a regular occurrence. If this happens again, I will deduct an hours pay. Do you understand?”
You have a business to run, and as long as you are paying people fairly and providing a comfortable, safe and enjoyable work environment, there’s no reason you should have to put up with behavior that jeopardizes your company. You are perfectly justified, you’re not “the bad guy” and you should not feel bad about doing things that protect the atmosphere for you and all the employees you value and want to retain.
Go for it. No more nonsense!
Posted by Alan Ibbotson on May 23, 2007 | Comments (6)