How to manage difficult employees effectively - Damien Treanor

Clear communication is key to handling difficult employees. Image 123rf

KEY POINTS

• Managing difficult employees involves clear communication and setting firm expectations to prevent workplace friction.
• Supervisors should address issues early, emphasising the importance of fulfilling work commitments.
• HR managers need to identify and resolve organisational weaknesses to enhance team performance.

OPINION

You may have worked with this person in a business or organisation: someone who’s keen for a chat, who wants to share a drama, checks their phone constantly, or maybe they have an errand to run.

Sometimes they’re working – but often not. The job becomes what they get around to doing when something else isn’t happening in their life.

This behaviour can be challenging to manage for supervisors, partly because in New Zealand a lot of managers are your ‘mum-and-dad’ sort. They’ve been promoted from the floor for their sensibleness and hard work.

It’s difficult, too, for the co-workers who are generally sympathetic and supportive, though well aware that they will eventually have to pick up and complete the tasks that the co-worker isn’t doing.

And it’s hard for the difficult worker in question, as they often think they’re doing a good job.

Most of the time, co-workers grit their teeth and get on with their jobs. Some will have a little whinge in the lunchroom or at home, but often that’s not enough. Co-workers may end up formally complaining, quitting or, worse, the harmony of the entire team may collapse.

In that situation, it’s preferable that the manager can see what’s happening in advance and try to fix the problem before it spirals out of control.

At the heart of many workplace frictions is an embedded and unconscious difference of opinion between the employee and the employer about what takes precedence – work or life?

For many of us, the contract is not conditional – if you signed up for 40 hours, then you work 40 hours with few exceptions. But for some, the 40-hour commitment may come with a qualifier: provided nothing else in their lives demands their attention.

The modern New Zealand workplace recognises that life happens and exceptions need to be made to the normal workday.

To be clear, there are a multitude of significant life events (cancer, bereavements, sick children – the list is endless) that genuinely require employees to down tools and go – and it would be terrible to deny this.

But we are talking about the “if it’s not one thing, it’s another” person.

Most managers and co-workers would like to be considerate, but work is an unforgiving taskmaster. The need to get the work done doesn’t stop, and if it does, it may never come back. Customers that are not provided for may not return.

So, what can you do about this type of behaviour in the workplace?

Step one is to say “No” when you should be saying “No”.

Often requests for time off, late starts, early finishes, and other one-day variations to the contract are made with the clear expectation that you’ll say “Yes”.

Sometimes it can come as a shock by just saying “No – you need to do what you’re supposed to be doing”.

If this upsets them, that’s likely a price worth paying. Remember, the employment agreement goes both ways; they can no more expect you to agree to changes in what they’re supposed to be doing than you can expect them to take a pay cut.

Another useful response is to discuss it with them – ask them what they think their job is. The EMA employment relations AdviceLine regularly fields inquiries from supervisors in member companies asking for help and practical tips in the performance management of difficult employees. We often start by recommending simple clear communication.

It’s vital to keep an open mind when having these conversations; instead of not doing their job, the ‘difficult’ employee may simply be doing different things.

Everyone prioritises what they do based on what they think is right, and this can sometimes differ between workers and managers.

So don’t rule out the fact that they may just be focusing on different tasks. While you may wish to change this, don’t rush to judge by concluding that laziness is the root cause.

If in fact there are issues with the employee’s work ethic, then set some outcomes based on what they’re supposed to get done.

Looking like you’re working can be very different from actually getting the job done, so set clear weekly or monthly expectations.

This can be tricky in daily workplaces (such as building sites) or work that isn’t task-related (like customer services) but see what you can find – you may be surprised.

At the EMA, I give courses to hundreds of HR managers on how to deal with organisational threats that stem from workplace conflict or simply on how to be a confident coach of managers to help them deal with people issues.

I always emphasise to HR managers that they must be more than just mere administrators of contracts, leave calculations, or payroll.

Today, in these challenging economic conditions, a successful HR manager will be one who identifies and resolves organisational weaknesses – and releases the handbrakes that inhibit team performance.