Handling Difficult Employees

Handling difficult employees is one of the more tedious parts of being a manager. If you handle the situation correctly, you can turn a problem employee into a great one!

Tutorial

Handling a difficult employee is the part of management I didn't enjoy. Fortunately, if you are able to accept the fact you are no longer everyone's buddy when you become a manager, you will make it through this sometimes dreadful task. The benefit of handling a difficult employee correctly is you will get a much better worker, otherwise, you may find through the process that the person decides to leave or you help them make that decision.

Identify the Weaknesses

The first step in the process to handling the difficult employee is to identify their weaknesses and how it relates to the performance issue. Are they not able to handle the assigned tasks? Do they have personality conflicts with you or other employees? Are they simply not motivated to perform their job function?

By identifying the specific weaknesses, you can help form a plan to correct their actions or inactions. This is a crucial part of the process, if you approach the employee and talk about generalities -- you aren't working hard enough, you just aren't doing your job, or we have a problem with your performance - you will not be able to create a plan to solve the problem and you probably will find a defensive employee.

Document Everything

Once you have identified the employee's weaknesses, document very specific situations where things could have been handled differently. This documentation will help you when you talk to the employee to provide very specific ways they can improve.

Talk to Your Employee

Once you have prepared this documentation, talk to the employee and let them know the specific areas they need to work on to improve in their job. Let them know that your door is open and you can help them perform better if they want your assistance.

Followup is Crucial

Once you have spoken to the employee and provided concrete examples of areas they can improve on, followup with them daily, weekly, or as required. Keep track of any metrics to compare their performance to their peers. Document any situations which could be resolved in a different fashion. Make sure the employee knows you will be keeping track of their performance so they do not slide backwards again.

Create a Plan

If the employee does not improve with the verbal instructions and discussions, create a written performance improvement plan. This should include goals, metrics to reach, behaviors desired, and specific followup dates. For example, if you are in a customer service environment and one of your metrics is to answer at least 15 calls an hour and your employee only answers 8 an hour, create goals for a period of time. This might be 10 calls per hour by the end of 5 days, 12 calls per hour by the end of 15 days, and 15 calls per hour by the end of 20 business days.

A Parting of the Ways

Sometimes an employee is just not meant to work in the field he's in, or just not suited for your work environment. In a situation like this and after the employee has been through this performance correcting process, you may need to terminate the employee. You can do this by the traditional method of firing the person, or strongly recommend she start looking for a different opportunity inside the company or somewhere else.