As many managers do, the majority of my job is developing my team. But what happens when someone doesn't want to be developed? What happens when someone does not follow through when you ask them to complete a task or has poor attendance? Well, in the past I have distanced myself from that problem performer, held them accountable for their actions, and worked through the corrective action and termination process.
But through my discussions with other managers, I realized that I need to continue to treat problem performers, at least on the surface, the same that I treat everyone else. We should be able to go behind closed doors and have a serious conversation about their work performance and then maintain friendly professionalism in front of others.
Although I feel like this could be a challenge for me, as I lose respect for problem performers, it is something that I am working on. Check out this article about 8 rules for dealing with problem performers. As managers in the workplace, this is some great info for when you inevitably will have to terminate someone.
6 comments:
I agree with the management on their assessment. You can never be seen as showing one employee favortism over another as it may come back to bite ya in the bumper(yes that is what my 2 1/2 yr old daughter calls her tushy). I found this link on the definition of favoristim
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/favoritism
Even if the employee was terminated justly, they can always come back and say that you didn'tike them or favored other employees. As a manager it is always best to be neutral to everyone so as to not show favoritism even with the problem performers.
As a manager I can see why your frustration and lost of respect for problem performers can cause you to have an estranged or lack of relationship with them. But in a situation like this it is easy for you to keep your distance and not deal with them unless it is for disciplinary reasons. As a manager individuals should communicate with their staff in order get goals accomplished and understand their ways of thinking. Maybe these problems employees are acting out in resentment or resisting management. In this case it may be vital for managers to have a discussion with these individuals to maybe see what the problem is and try to resolve it, because maybe it is something that management is doing or saying that results in the poor behavior and performance of the staff, they may feel you do not care.
Hi Jessica,
I think it can be very hard to deal with a problematic performer. It is shard to come into a day with low repeat performance from a certain individual. It makes you wonder why cant this person work harder or why can everyone else do what they are supposed to do and not this person. For myself, I always wonder how this quiet unsocial person got hired to work in a retail job dealing with customers. How did they get through the interview? Were they outgoing just to get the job? These questions always stump me when understanding how me being an extroverted person and a complete introverted person can both work at the same job. It is a very hard question to think about and wonder why there are some great workers and then some really bad ones to contend with in the workplace.
Very good point! It's much easier to say that you can treat them the same on the floor than it is to actually do it. I find that the employees that do their job well with no complaining tend to make me happier as a manager. Those who continually lack in performance tend to just get ignored a little. It's tough not to let them change your attitude toward them.
An important thing to remember is that as Managers, you are also a 'leader' who should represent what your organization thinks of their employees and how they should be managed. This also makes you a role model for others who may aspire to be in a management role. How you treat/manage your employees will say more about you than it will your employees. For example, if you demonstrate disrespect towards anyone, others may not know why you have an attitude, nor should they, and they will think that it is okay for a manager to treat employees that way. When it, in fact, is not. I agree with you - you should deal with the issue at hand separately behind closed doors, and in the general public, they are all equal. The ones that are good performers will know they are since they will be the ones getting the raises, promotions, recognition. There is no need to point out the poor performers in front of their peers, since that only ruins the morale within the team. then they too may be disrespectful.
I've seen employees improve their performance and productivity just because their manager has treated them with respect and dignity and that has made them feel valued. When they feel valued, you will get more out of them. If you treat them like an outcast, you will get nothing from them.
It is difficult to manage workers who all perform at different levels, especially when one worker is much better than the other. A good example is the employee who comes in late to work but outperforms everyone else. It's hard to discipline them because they're still doing better than their coworkers.
However, If you dont take the time to treat everyone the same way, then this might happen more often. I think of where I work and the sales reps I deal with. Often, I cut slack to the best ones because they seem to have difficulty with billing (go figure). In return, I make adjustments and make sure their order will go smoothly. It's hard to avoid favoritism but it would probably be a good idea to act the same toward everyone
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