How to manage a bad employee

Most entrepreneurs and managers have encountered bad employees in the past. Working with difficult employees can prove challenging, especially if you don’t have clear policies and procedures in place to manage the problem. If you’re forced to manage a bad employee, you can use the following tips and strategies to restore workplace order and resolve the problem.

Think of a bad employee as a rotten apple. If you put the apple in the same barrel with healthy apples, the mold will eventually spread to the healthy specimens. The same is true for bad employees. When dealing with difficult employees, you must make sure his or her behavior doesn’t spread to otherwise good employees. These strategies will help you contain the situation and promote a positive work environment.

Provide additional training

Sometimes, bad employees simply don’t understand their job descriptions. They aren’t actively trying to work slower, make mistakes, or get behind on deadlines. They’re struggling to make it through the day, and extra training can help. Ask the employee to spend some one-on-one time with a manager to go over job duties and responsibilities and to answer any questions the employee might have. Explain that you want to help him or her become more productive.

Remember that people learn at different paces. While one employee might master a skill in 30 minutes, another could need several days to reach the same level of competency. Once the “bad employee” masters the skill or task, however, he or she might outperform everyone else. Try not to give up on an employee who might just need a little extra attention.

Give more frequent performance reviews

Performance reviews tell an employee exactly where he or she stands with the company and with management. Some businesses perform them only once per year, if at all, but you can give them more often to make sure difficult employees know that they’re not performing to your standards.

You don’t have to spend the performance review yelling at your employee about poor work performance. Instead, take a more practical approach. Identify the key areas where you feel he or she needs improvement, then ask what his or her barriers are. Engage in a dialogue so you can learn more about the employee.

Communicate your expectations

When dealing with difficult employees, make sure they know what you expect of them. If they’re not sure of their duties and roles within the organization, they can’t possibly meet your expectations. Write down a clear list of goals and benchmarks you want your employees to meet, then invite them to ask questions if they’re uncertain about any of them.

Remember that everything should go on paper. Writing down your expectations and asking the employee to sign the document establishes a clear paper trail. The employee cannot later state that he or she didn’t understand your expectations or didn’t realize he or she was in violation.

Establish clear consequences for poor behavior

Just like children, employees need boundaries and discipline. Make sure all employees know the consequences for poor performance, whether it’s demotion, a verbal or written warning, or something more serious. Of course, you must follow through with the guidelines you set, so make sure you’re prepared to carry them out.

Today’s businesses can enforce many creative disciplinary measures that didn’t exist just 20 years ago. For instance, you can revoke certain privileges, such as telecommuting, when employees fall below your standards. When workers know the consequences they face, they may improve their performance to avoid having to face them.

Follow published corporate guidelines

When it comes to managing difficult employees, you must make sure you enforce company policies across the board. You can’t discipline one employee and not discipline another for the same infraction. While mitigating circumstances might change how you handle a situation, make those clear before you pass judgment.

An employee handbook offers the ideal way to communicate expectations, rules, guidelines, and consequences. Each employee should receive, read, and sign a copy of the handbook for your records, but make sure they all have copies to take home with them.

Dealing with difficult employees

Disciplining employees can feel uncomfortable, especially if you’re intimidated by the employee or worried about his or her reaction. Remember that discipline should always take place behind closed doors. Avoid berating workers in front of their peers; otherwise, you’ll add resentment to the “bad employee’s” list of reasons to perform poorly.

The following tips can help you not only deal with difficult employees, but also encourage positive behavior in the workplace.

Continue to reward hard workers

Don’t let bad employees take your full attention. Remember that you still have hard workers on your staff, so reward them religiously. Difficult employees will not only see that they receive poor performance reviews and disciplinary action, but also that they’re not receiving the perks that come with stellar performance.

Additionally, you don’t want your good employees to feel that difficult workers receive more attention. Rewarding good behavior is just as essential as punishing bad behavior.

Ask questions

Sometimes difficult employees act out because they feel as though their employer doesn’t meet their needs. Start conversations with all employees about their wants, needs, and expectations. Find out whether they feel something is missing from their jobs or whether they have feedback about your management style.

Organizations can sometimes become confusing, especially when it comes to leadership. Everyone has a different management style, and yours might not work as well with some employees as with others. In some cases, it’s most effective to transfer a difficult employee to a different department, under different management, if your questions reveal this to be an issue.

Document negative and positive incidents

As mentioned above, you need a paper trail for each employee. Write down negative and positive feedback for each employee when an event occurs. Give the employee a copy of your report so he or she knows what you’ve observed, then invite that employee to ask questions or give an alternate perspective.

Remember that office incidents aren’t always black and white. Additionally, difficult employees might be experiencing problems outside of work that impact their performance. Digging down to the root of the issue might help you turn a negative situation around before you have to think about terminating the employee.

When you document incidents in the workplace, discuss the situation with human resources. Let that department know about any problem employees and ask for advice. HR professionals typically know more about the company’s guidelines and policies than managers, and they can guide you in the right direction.

Avoid spreading gossip

Workplaces can quickly turn into gossip mills. Never talk negatively about one employee to another; you’ll create a culture of distrust and paranoia that will impact everyone’s performance. Additionally, stop gossip whenever you hear it. Let employees know that you won’t tolerate rumors and other gossip in the workplace.

Ask for solutions

In today’s workplace, managers who talk down to their employees typically remain ineffective, especially with difficult workers. Instead of telling the employee how he or she will behave and perform in the future, ask him or her to come up with a solution. This forces the employee to take ownership of the problem and to better understand how it impacts everyone else in the office.

Additionally, this strategy encourages the employee to develop his or her problem-solving skills. There’s an issue with his or her behavior, so how can it be fixed? Ask the employee to come up with a list of action steps that will result in improved future performance.

Find a replacement team member

Sometimes, bad employees don’t turn themselves around. If poor performance or bad behavior continues in the workplace, you might have to terminate the employee and find a replacement team member. While this isn’t the best outcome, it can prove beneficial for the entire team. As mentioned above, one moldy apple can spread its disease to the rest of the bunch.

Dealing with difficult employees might feel stressful, but if you take a logical, humanistic, respectful approach to the problem, you might get better results. Follow the above strategies to maintain a healthy workplace environment for everyone involved, and remember that documentation and communication pave the way to a positive outcome.

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