13 Ways to Manage Difficult Employees
Distinguish Between Bad Work and Clashing Styles
Your judgment may be influenced by a dislike for a particular employee’s personal approach. Take a step back and drive toward an impartial, business-minded evaluation of performance.
Gain Consensus
To further develop a fair assessment, ask team members to lend input without leading their responses.
Make Everything Clear
Set specific objectives in writing so the difficult employee can’t say “but I thought you meant …” in the future.
Empower Peer Influencers
Sometimes, a struggling staffer improves more through peer pressure. So encourage your top team members to give an authoritative “push” when appropriate.
Build in Extra Feedback Time
Schedule feedback sessions more frequently for these workers, perhaps even once a week.
Always Begin Feedback Sessions on a Positive Note
No professional benefits from a non-stop brow-beating. To begin a session, finding something nice to say before discussing any issues.
Let These Employees Assess Themselves
It also helps to begin a one-on-one by asking, “How do you think you’ve been doing?” That way, you get a sense of whether you’re on the same page or if your expectations need to be further clarified.
Take the Team Approach
It’s not “I need you to do better …” It’s “We need to work on these improvement points together for the good of our team.”
Maintain Your Standards
Helping a problematic employee doesn’t mean you lower the bar. Make it clear that long-term success will depend upon reaching needed but doable performance measures.
Don’t Get Emotional
By getting angry or upset, you’ll only position yourself as someone to be avoided. Stay calm.
Call Out Positive Progress
Don’t let a job well done on the part of struggling staffers go unnoticed. You’ll spread good karma, while sending a message about the quality of performance you expect.
Come Up With a New Role
Maybe you placed a hire in the wrong position for his or her skillset and interests. Before terminating anyone, consider whether there’s another role that may be a better fit.
If an Eventual Termination Seems Inevitable
Make sure you’ve already covered the traditional “three strike” steps: A verbal warning, followed by a written one, and then a “final” written one.
