Your employee comes in late, doesn’t finish proposals on time, is lazy and
generally unresponsive to company policies, or makes crude jokes in the office
and throws fits when things don’t go according to plan.
So what, as an employer, can you do? Some local consultants think they have some solutions.
Employers faced with problem-employees must first make the decision – to fire them or help them. For those who decide the problematic employee is a valued one, Karen B. Venturini, business coach and consultant and president of KBV Training & Coaching Inc. in North Scituate, has a format to follow.
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First, she said, define the problem – which sounds simple but is often overlooked when employers are dealing with good employees with some performance problems.
Ask, “How can I show this employee that I value him or her? How is the behavior I’m seeing impacting the employee and others? Am I seeing a pattern? What is concerning me most about this behavior? What needs to change and when does it need to change by?
“Try to engage the employee in finding solutions to the problem,” Venturini added. “Asking him or her what they need to be successful is more likely to create a ‘win-win’ solution than if you were to tell them what your solution would be.” It also serves as a tool to hold the employee to their commitments.
“If the words come out of their mouth, instead of yours, they own it,” she said. “They’re going to take ownership of that commitment.”
Employers should focus on job performance, not on the person, she said – make sure acceptable and unacceptable job performance issues are the topic of discussion, not the person’s character. This allows the employee to retain his or her dignity in difficult situations.
“Often it’s a conflict of interest in regards to their cultures,” said professor Frank Tomassi, chair of the Department of Management (with a focus on human resources) at Johnson & Wales University. “In training, we try to get them to creatively disagree with each other.”
The university has a degree program specializing in human resources, and Tomassi – who worked at textile machinery maker Leesona Corp. for 20 years – often calls on his and other industry professionals’ experiences to set up scenarios for his students.
“I get an approved plan for a solution in writing,” he said. “If the person has good attributes, there’s power in praise.”
In the case of a person whose behaviors clash with management, this rule applies: “How does the weird behavior impact the employee’s work and others?” Having a worker who throws fits is an awkward situation for everyone.
“Hissy fits are not acceptable – the employee gets upset, gets out of control and it’s not appropriate in the work environment,” Venturini said. “Focus on the hissy fit (as a behavior), not the person. The employer has to decide where to draw the line; the employee at that point is crossing the line from being a valued employee” to being a pain.
There are a number of behavioral assessments available that employers can use to better understand their workers’ natural tendencies and work with them to develop strategies for working better together.
The key to problem solving is understanding, Tomassi said. Sit down with the employee – if he or she knows you’re sincere, the worker is more likely to take your comments as constructive criticism.
“You don’t want to attack or belittle them,” he said. “First ask, ‘What do you feel? Is there anything you want to do or have tried to do but have been unsuccessful?’ If he says he needs help, then you can observe him. It’s an ongoing process that could take months.”
The best approach is always prevention: Establish the ground rules before or upon hiring someone. Venturini said assumptions are usually the cause for many work-related problems.
“It’s more of an issue of employers making assumptions of people, like if your workday is 9 to 5, they assume you’ll be in at 8:45 and stay until 5:15, and if you have a 30-minute lunch break, they’ll assume it’s no big deal if they ask you to work through it,” she said. “This is the first time in our working history that we have four different generations in the work force,” and there are differences in work ethics.
Tomassi said that many of the problems stem from a lack of respect between worker and employer, lateness, a lack of organization or not being a team player.
With lateness, “you can talk to them and talk to them and they might make an improvement for a few weeks, and then they’re back to their old ways, until you give them a warning for dismissal,” he said. “Eighty-five percent of success is showing up.”
Develop an outside relationship with a consultant, coach or mentor – someone who can look at the problem objectively, or hire a business coach, Venturini suggested.
“You try to treat everyone like a human being, but if it’s not working and every day is a problem and everyone’s work is being affected” it’s time to make a decision, Tomassi said. “If they’re impairing productivity, talking back and upsetting customers, you can only take so much.”
