237: How to Manage Difficult Employees

Today, I’m talking about how to manage difficult employees.

My sources for this episode include Northeastern University Graduate Programs blog, lumapps.com, and indeed.com

Let’s start with the definition of a difficult employee:

A difficult employee is a term used to describe a person who acts in a careless, unprofessional, or irresponsible manner in the workplace. Difficult employees may challenge the authority of their leaders, create a negative or disruptive work environment for their peers, or struggle to meet personal performance expectations.

Specific characteristics of a difficult employee may include:

• Attendance issues
• Failure to meet expectations
• Distracting others from their work
• Lack of motivation, energy, enthusiasm, or pride in their own work
• Difficulty accepting accountability for their actions
• Argumentative, rude, violent, or disruptive behavior
• Behavior that intimidates, threatens, or humiliates others
• Lack of respect or tolerance for the opinions, skills, or talents of others
• Difficulty building positive work relationships or working on a team
• Taking part in workplace gossip
• Ignoring established rules or procedures

What are some of the causes?

-Professional relationships

-Jealousy of the success of others

-Issues within their home or family

-Physical or mental health concerns

-Stress resulting from a heavy workload

-Poor work-life balance

Difficult employees often have the potential to be valuable contributors to an organization. The actions and behaviors of these employees also impact the culture and morale of the overall workplace.

It is important to understand that difficult employees often are not intentionally being difficult, but instead are responding to challenges in their personal or professional lives that are impacting their ability to perform or behave appropriately.

I think it is easy to get into a victim/villain mode with a difficult employee – thinking that they are intentionally doing the things they are doing to “get you” as the boss. This type of thinking puts you as the supervisor in a helpless, disempowering position with the difficult employee having power over you.

So, how do we manage difficult employees?

1.    Acknowledge and identify the problem

The first step is an acknowledgment that there is a problem - and identifying exactly what the problem is. Documentation helps here, along with specific examples of each issue.

2.    Find the positives

Although sometimes we may find this difficult, it is important to identify the employee’s positive characteristics. By identifying several positive traits or achievements to discuss with the employee along with your concerns, you minimize the risk that the meeting will become confrontational and unproductive. The employee will likely respond better when they feel their value is being recognized.

3.    Ask for the employee’s feedback

Get the employee’s feedback about their performance, behavior, and concerns. Begin by asking the employee if they are aware of how their performance or behavior is impacting the company. Then ask them if there are any concerns they have or if there is anything they want to discuss. Listen closely to what the employee has to say.

Your primary goal for the meeting is to discover the root causes of the issues with your employee’s performance or behavior, and to find solutions you can work on together.

4.    Create an action plan and document it

The next step is to work with the employee to create an action plan to address the concerns. Make sure your expectations, the process for measuring progress, and the consequences for failing to meet expectations are clearly laid out. Identify the specific actions they need to take to help them achieve their goals and identify any tools or resources they will need for success. Establish appropriate time frames for completing each section of the action plan.

Finally, be sure to document everything in writing and provide the employee with a copy.

5.    Follow up consistently

Monitor the employee’s progress throughout the given timeframe. Establish a schedule for check-ins with the employee to discuss progress and provide additional progress. Recognize progress of goal achievement and address any areas in which they are struggling.

With these steps, you can maximize the chances of turning around the difficult employee so they can:

-Understand how their behavior or performance impacts the organization

-Overcome the personal or professional circumstances that are affecting their behavior or contributing to their performance issues

-Build positive work relationships with their managers and colleagues

-Make adjustments to their behavior that helps create a positive work environment

-Improve their work performance and achieve their maximum potential and greater job satisfaction

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