Dealing With Problem Employees
By Bob Mason
If you've been working with people for any length of time, you've probably had that person who wouldn't cooperate or who was just causing trouble. One of the least fun and most difficult challenges a leader faces is dealing with problem employees.
There are all kinds of problems that employees can present and just when you think you've seen it all, someone will come up with a new wrinkle that you haven't seen before. There's no magic formula that will make all the problems go away, but there are a few basic leadership techniques that can lessen the number and impact of problem employees. Here are some ideas that, while they won't prevent all problems, will help keep a more harmonious balance in your office.
1. Treat everyone with respect and insist everyone else does too. Often a problem employee will emerge because they don't feel appreciated. This doesn't mean you should coddle your employees. Quite the contrary. You must hold everyone to high standards and recognize them for the contribution they make. That's much easier if you follow the next tip.
2. Make sure people know where they stand. If someone is doing great work, tell them. But, if someone is not meeting expectations, you need to tell them that too. That's a much more difficult conversation to have, but it's important to have it early. Employees who think you were satisfied with their efforts over a long period of time, even if they know their performance was sub-standard, can easily become problem employees when you finally break the news.
3. Ask them to be engaged. There's a lot of talk lately about employee engagement and most of that is focused on employees who are not actively engaged in their company. What's usually missing in the discussion is that leaders often don't ask them to be engaged. Employees who do not understand the company's mission and goals and how they are important to accomplishing the mission and goals will not be engaged. Most importantly, when they know the boss understands and appreciates their contribution, they are more likely to be engaged and less likely to be problem employees.
4. Listening and talking are important. Problem employees develop when they don't think the boss is listening to their problems and concerns. This doesn't mean you must act on every comment or agree to every suggestion, but your employees must know they will always get a fair hearing. By the way, this not only helps avoid problem employees, but can also lead to some pretty exciting improvements. It's also important for you as the leader to communicate with your employees. Let them know what's going on and how their work is contributing to success. You will not hide the fact that there are problems so be honest about them.
Will these four actions prevent problem employees? Of course not. But they will go a long way in significantly reducing the time you spend dealing with problem employees. There are two other actions that you must always consider. These are less pleasant but are essential.
1. Don't accept dishonesty. Never tolerate an employee lying to you or acting dishonestly. Once someone has demonstrated they are willing to compromise their integrity, there is no turning back. You must attack this problem immediately and vigorously.
2. There are some who advise firing people early, when problems first appear but you will have to decide your own tolerance level. Consider how serious the problem is, how valuable the employee is, and how difficult it will be to fix the problem. There's nothing wrong with trying to help an employee overcome problems. However, you're not a social worker and too much time spent trying to rehabilitate one worker will have negative effects on the others and the entire company. Sometimes, in spite of your best efforts, dealing with problem employees means letting them go.
3. Document. Most employees are hired on what's known as an "at will" basis, meaning you can fire someone for any reason or no reason as long as it isn't an illegal reason. While that sounds good, it's still best to keep good documentation of all problems and the actions you've taken. You may need that documentation to prove that what you did was legal.
Dealing with problem employees isn't easy and it isn't fun. What are you doing to prevent your workers from becoming those problem employees?
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I Learned About Leadership From That!
None of us are truly born with the ability to lead. Some may have more of the qualities that make great leaders, but most often great leadership develops from watching and learning from others. Here is a leadership lesson that I learned.
THE TEAM
The boss called me in to say that I was being transferred from a position I really enjoyed to one I certainly didn't want. When I arrived at the new office I found that my predecessor had been fired and I had a strong feeling it was premature to start hanging pictures on the wall. The sign on my door seemed to be written in pencil so as to be easily erased should I too not measure up.
My team was small, too small really for the global responsibility we were charged with. But what the team lacked in size they made up for in tremendous technical expertise. Each of them also had extensive leadership experience. In fact, I found myself responsible for a team of people who individually had probably forgotten more than I would ever know. Two questions quickly became obvious.
Why was this team of outstanding experts not wildly successful?
How could I possibly change that?
The answers actually became evident very quickly. Each member of the team was doing great work and the primary problem seemed to be a lack of communication. The team didn't really have a focus on what the senior leader expected and the senior leader didn't seem to have a good view of what the team was really doing.
Therefore, I found my job as the leader was to provide that communication link. I didn't need to tell the team members what to do or how to do it; they knew that better than I. What I did need to do was refocus them on what the senior leader felt was important while also making the senior leader more aware of the great work the team was accomplishing that kept small issues from becoming big problems.
Leadership isn't always about directing. Sometimes coordinating, supporting, and communicating is a more appropriate approach.
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