All managers have dealt with a difficult employee in their team. Whether the individual comes in late, is rude, or simply does not want to work according to company standards, it is up to the manager to deal with that person.
Although bosses do have the option of terminating the employment of anyone on their staff, that is not always the best course to take.
First, there are certain legal proceedings that must be followed before firing anyone, and second, an unfair termination may lead to legal proceedings.
Therefore, managers need to try other avenues before resorting to this final one, which we will suggest in this article.
Collect Evidence – Before addressing the individual and airing out your grievances, make sure you are prepared for the verbal exchange.
This requires time to collect evidence so that you can present it in the meeting. Observe the behaviours that are causing you concern, and write them down.
Then, you can provide specific examples instead of generalisations. Instead of saying, “You are always late,” you can say, “You were more than twenty minutes late ten times last month.”
This evidence can help you prove your point and show the employee exactly what needs to be changed.
Highlight the Positive – Many times, difficult employees need a little encouragement to show their good side. Therefore, it is imperative that you start out by mentioning something positive about them or their work skills before diving into the negative.
Start the meeting by complimenting the staff on a past report or a comment from a client about excellent customer service. This will not only start the conversation off on a good note, but will also show the person that you are not only set out to critique him or her.
Stay Involved – Often, the key to true change on the part of the employee is held by the manager.
This means that telling the worker that something needs to change may not be enough for the shift to actually occur.
What is really helpful is for the boss to be involved in the process, showing examples of what needs to be done, and then following up and providing regular feedback to the staff on his or her attempts to be better.
Difficult team members can cause a disruption to the workflow, and can be bothersome to the rest of the team. Therefore, it is important that the manager is aware of the situation, and deals with it promptly. However, before deciding to fire that employee, there are certain tricks that can be tried to help the individual become better on the job.
Courtesy MTD Tips.
