Congratulations, you’ve just inherited your first problem employee! His attitude has become negative over the last couple of months and it’s starting to affect the rest of your staff. People are complaining and you finally decide that it’s time to do something. Where do you start?
There’s a saying that 90% of a manager’s time will be required by only 10% of his/her staff. What that really means is that you will spend an inordinate amount of time dealing with the dreaded “problem employee” like the one above. Why? Is it because this is someone who requires your constant personal attention just to get the basic work done? Or is it because you lack the tools and skills necessary to deal with the problem effectively? Maybe, but the problem employee is a problem you (or someone before you) created and now you have to clean up the mess. It’s your fault because you failed to address the issue the minute you recognized it.
WHY SMALL PROBLEMS MUSHROOM
Oftentimes, managers don’t address the little things until they become elephant in the room. Whether it’s because of lack of tools and skills, lack of managerial courage or the need to be politically correct doesn’t matter. Once the problem surfaces, everyone is in reactive mode and that makes it harder fix.
THE KEY
So how do you handle it? Before you sit down with the employee, get prepared. Analyze the situation from your own point of view. Make notes about what you’ve experienced in dealing with the employee and include any information you’ve received from others that validate your observations (no names). Think about how the behavior affects the organization and note the changes you expect to see and when you expect to see them. Then think about the consequences you are willing to offer if no change is seen. Write it all down – work with it until it makes sense. Consult your HR team for guidance on policy and procedures. After you’ve done all that, then you can have the conversation.
THE CONVERSATION
Before you start talking about the things on your list, ask the employee this one question: “IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT?” Neither your concern nor the employee’s answer excuses the behavior but it does start the conversation off on the right foot. This is about the employee and how to get them back to being productive. If there is something personal affecting the work, there may be resources (i.e. Employee Assistance Program (EAP), leave of absence, etc.) to help. If there are no outside influences, start addressing the issues. Once the issues are out in the open, it’s time to set a course of action.
- State the issues clearly and make sure they’re understood “You yelled at your office mate yesterday. That’s the second time this week”
- Let the employee know your expectations – and use the word, don’t tell them what you would “like”, tell them what you “expect”. “Your actions are not acceptable and it is my expectation that it won’t happen again”
- Do not include a timeframe (i.e. in no improvement in __ days, then). Improvement must be “immediate and sustained” – again use the exact words. You want them to know that you expect them to do the job correctly from the time your conversation ends until they are no longer employed by the organization. Leave no room for interpretation.
- State the consequences if they fail (verbal warning, written warning, termination). Write it down. Basic documentation isn’t difficult. Send a confirming email to the employee acknowledging the conversation and bullet the highlights. That way the next step whether termination or promotion is easy to justify. (Note: develop the habit of using confirming emails with all of your employees on anything important)
- Let the employee know that you will routinely monitor and coach to help them succeed – then do it.
The Follow-up
Now it’s time to become the coach. Work with your employee on a regular basis noting progress (or setbacks) and making corrections along the way. Teach, correct, encourage, and reward. Don’t wait for a small problem to mushroom into a big one. Use the above steps the moment you notice the potential for problems. Your staff will thank you for it.