Naturally,
no one wants to work with difficult people. When dealing with problematic
employees, productivity decreases, frustrations rise, morale goes down and
customers and vendors get upset.
How to
Handle Them- 1. Don't ignore the problem. Assuming that the employee
provides value to the company and possesses redeeming qualities, there are ways
to deal with difficult employees. Most often, managers will simply ignore
problematic staffers. Managers who live by this rule hope the problem will just
go away; that these people will somehow turn themselves around or stop being
troublesome. Ignoring the situation is the wrong solution to what could likely
become a progressive problem.
2.
Intervene as soon as possible. It is important to take action as soon as
the negative behavior pattern becomes evident--when left untouched, this
problem will only escalate.
Occasionally,
the difficult employee has no idea that his behavior is a problem or that
others react negatively to his actions. This is because most people tend to put
up with the annoying behavior and "go along to get along." At the
same time, some employees just consider it a "job frustration." Just
like some managers, employees want to be liked by colleagues and subordinates
and are therefore reluctant to speak up when a problem arises.
Ultimately,
it is the manager's responsibility to take the appropriate action to correct
the problem. Whether the concern exists due to the employee's lack of knowledge
of the issue, lack of feedback or projecting the difficulty onto someone else,
the manager has the responsibility of addressing and turning around the
predicament. The manager needs to gather information from employees to discern
the extent of the problem and personally observe the employee interacting with
customers or vendors.
3.
Research the problem personally. Armed with accurate data and examples,
the manager needs to then take this person into a conference room or
office--away from others--and calmly address the issue. To begin, the manager
needs to ask the employee if he is aware of any ongoing issues to determine if
the difficult person is aware of the problems.
If the
employee is "unaware," the manager needs to describe the unacceptable
behavior. The employee might interrupt to disagree or deny the existence of any
issues. Nevertheless, the manager needs to continue by giving clear examples of
the unwanted behavior.
The
manager also needs to allow the employee to respond to the allegations. If the
difficult employee refuses to believe that the allegations exist despite the
evidence, the most the manager can hope for is an intellectual acceptance of
the possibility that a problem exists.
4. Help
the problematic employee to get back on track. Once the employee begins to
understand that these negative behaviors are real and experienced by others in
the organization, the manager or someone from human resources should begin to
coach the difficult employee in displaying more acceptable and appropriate
behaviors. The employee needs time and practice in "trying on" new,
more suitable behaviors. HR and/or the manager need to provide specific
feedback to this employee on the success or failure of his efforts in
minimizing the negative actions and implementing ones that are more positive.
5. If
all else fails, termination may be necessary. If the employee continues to
deny his inappropriate behavior and refuses to try to improve the situation,
the manager needs to place this person on the fast track towards termination.
Often this involves recording a series of well-documented verbal and then
written feedback about the behavior. Strictly following company protocol, there
should be a period for the employee to address the questionable behavior. If
this trial period does not result in improved behavior, then the employee needs
to be terminated.
Most
employees will recognize the negative behavior and will at least attempt to
turn it around. This is especially true during tough economic times when
unemployment is high and finding a new job is difficult. In any case, the
manager needs to follow company guidelines in recognizing the unacceptable
behavior, providing direct feedback, providing input to try to turn it around
and ultimately taking action in a timely manner.
Not
doing so is a disservice to the problematic employee, other employees and the
success of the organization.
#rahulinvision
Comments