“HOW TO DEAL WITH DIFFICULT STAFF”
Poor
staff performance and 'problem workers' are some of the trickiest things to be
dealt with in the office. It's difficult to balance morale and productivity in
the optimum way for office success, and as a result I often hear of managers
turning a blind eye to poor staff performance, fearing that drawing attention
to it will cause problems in the atmosphere and work environment.
The truth is that
avoiding dealing with problem staff is often the worst thing you can do. If you
turn a blind eye, the rot can spread to the other apples. If a member of staff
is consistently late, for example, and nothing is seen to be done about it,
then why should other staff members keep up high standards of timeliness?
Inevitably, a rot sets in around the office and poor staff performance becomes
the rule rather than the exception! Even if it is something that others are
unaware of, like plummeting productivity, it is still something that should be dealt
with as soon as you become aware of the issue - intervening in a timely manner
will hit the problem on the head early on, and prevent it from spreading and
causing resentment and ill feeling. After all, problem employees may not realize
they are doing anything wrong unless you intervene, and doing this early can
act as a wake-up call to improve staff performance before it's too late!
So the first step of
dealing with problem staff or poor performance is to inform them of the
problem. Naturally this should be done in private to avoid shaming them in
front of the others (this will cause major resentment), and the issue should be
explained clearly so there is no grounds for misunderstanding. If they have a
reasonable excuse for a drop in form (severe illness in the family or problems
at home) then you should endeavor to be understanding and come up with a
compassionate solution - see how you can help the employee return to standard.
If they have no reason, you need to reiterate (or in some cases, iterate) clearly
what your expectations are from them - after all, if they don't know what they
are it can be impossible for them to be met! If you have a problem employee,
you don't want to wait until their annual review to tell them what goals they
should have met!
The next phase is
actually helping them to meet your outlined expectations. In the case of
something like consistent lateness this is easy to monitor, but with something
more abstract - like quantity and quality of work, it's harder for both you and
the employee to keep an eye on things. For this reason, you may need to
consider the following things when managing poor performance in your staff:
Plenty of Feedback
Positive,
constructive feedback is a good idea to give your employee an idea of whether
they're heading in the right direction or not. Let them know clearly what's
improved and what still needs to be tightened - it should be specific, detailed
and timely.
Possible
Supervision
Problem employees
often require direction and for employers to work closely with them in order
for them to reach their potential. Both parties should understand that this
hands on approach to managing poor performance is with the ultimate goal of the
employee working competently independently of constant supervision.
Additional
Training
In some (but by no
means all) situations, the employees underperformance may be through no fault
of their own, and they may as a result require extra training in order to reach
the standard of skills and competency stipulated in their goals.
Checklists
Depending on the type
of problem employee you have, you may find checklists to be of use. These are
particularly useful for problem staff who struggle with their timekeeping and
priorities, it allows them to stay focused on each task and organize their
workload.
Positive
Reinforcement
Having already been
highlighted for doing something wrong, it is essential you redress the balance
when the employee's performance improves. Positive reinforcement - telling the
employee you're pleased with their work can make someone's day, improve their
happiness at a company and - most importantly - make them more likely to
deliver a repeat performance. Let them know that this is the sort of thing
you've been hoping for.
Set a Period of
Evaluation
One of the most important
areas of dealing with problem staff is setting a period of evaluation. Put in
writing the problem, the improvements you hope to see made, and the timeline
for this. Close with the disciplinary actions that will be taken if things are
not improved (and maintained) - all the way up to dismissal if there is no
improvement.
Whatever you do,
don't just make firing your employees your automatic response to poor staff
performance! You need to work with the employees to try and resolve issues, and
give them fair warning that their job is in danger, otherwise you are leaving
yourself wide open for litigation. It may seem a lot of work, and easier just
to let it slide initially, but failure to act early will cause the problem to
get worse and worse, and potentially for discontent to spread within the office
environment. Follow this procedure when managing poor performance, and there's
no reason why your productivity shouldn't recover from the slight dip!
Iain Mackintosh is
the managing director of Simply-Docs. The firm provides over 1100 legal
documents and small business templates covering all aspects of business from
holiday entitlement to managing poor performance. By providing these legal
documents (with content provided by leading commercial lawyers, HR and health
& safety consultants) at an affordable price, the company intends to help
small businesses avoid costly breaches of regulation and legal action.
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