It has been said that there is no such thing as difficult
employees, only ineffective managers, but I've yet to meet
anyone who believes that's true. In the end, if people want
to be difficult that's there choice, but recognizing that
the way we manage such people is part of the mix here's a
selection of tried and tested techniques:
Look for the cause. We don't generally recruit known cynics
or troublemakers, so if someone is proving to be a
difficult employee the first step might be to understand
what has happened in their view to cause this behaviour.
Deal with performance not person. A great trick if you can
pull it off and not easy in emotional situations, but try
to deal with what the person does rather than get tangled
up in the sort of person they are. The next tip will help.
Be descriptive not evaluative. When giving feedback, offer
your observations of what actually happened and the
consequences rather than judging things as good, bad or
otherwise. People can't argue with the facts but they can
argue against your judgements.
Don't comment on attitude. Attitude must be the most
subjective term used at work. Every one of us believes that
our own attitude is useful and appropriate or we would
change it, so telling someone they have the wrong attitude
is pointless. Describing what they did and the results that
ensued will prove much more productive.
Deal with problems while they're small. If someone does
something that irritates you or upsets the team the time to
deal with it is there and then. In fairness, people often
don't realism the effects of their actions and unless we
point things out, the unhelpful behaviour takes root.
Don't take sides. If a member of your team asks you to deal
with a problem with another member of staff say that you'll
look into it and get back to them. Don't agree that "X is a
real problem and we need to straighten him out". This could
come back to haunt you later on and besides you'll gain
more respect from everyone by your professional approach.
Deal with things in private. At some stage you and your
difficult employee are going to need to have a
conversation. This must absolutely be done in private if
you're to have any chance of getting back on an even keel.
Many of the previous tips are designed to help you avoid
storing things up until you lose your temper and blurt out
your frustrations in front of everybody.
Consider the wider team. As Mr Spock used to say in Star
Trek, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few
and of the one." When we have difficulties with one member
of staff it can be easy for them to soak up all our energy
and attention and neglect our other team members.
Don't sweep problems under the carpet. There's no point
placing the problem person in some half-baked project role
or inventing some other non-job to get them out of the way.
Small businesses simply can't accommodate the costs of this
tactic and large organizations should think carefully about
the messages this sends
Be prepared to cut your losses. Robert Holden says that
"it's awful when people quit and go, but it's worse when
they quit and stay!" If somebody really refuses to change
their ways despite your best efforts, it may be better for
both parties to go their separate ways.
Coach, coach, coach
On a more positive note, why not see if you can turn your
problem performers into your stars! Sit down with them and
talk about what's going on. Find out what the problems are
and see what can be done. See if you can discover new ways
in which they might contribute and even consider offering
more responsibility further down the line if things
improve. I've met many "poachers turned gamekeepers" in my
time.
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Matt Somers is a coaching practitioner of many years'
experience. He works with a host of clients in North East
England where his firm is based and throughout the UK and
Europe. Matt understands that people are working with their
true potential locked away. He shows how coaching provides
a simple yet elegant key to this lock. For a bumper load of
coaching tips and tricks - including FREE resources - visit
http://www.mattsomers.com
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