As a small business owner, you wear many "different
hats" from strategic planner to bookkeeper. However one
area may owners aren't prepared for is managing people. Although
employees allow you to get more work done, they create a whole
new series of problems from hiring issues to worker's compensation.
And there is no way to tell if the people you hire today are
going to be a good fit for your company. At a certain point,
you might find you need a crash course in handling difficult
people.
Many conflicts can arise between small business
owners and their workers. These problems can range from salary
disagreements to performance problems. A conflict with one
of your employees, for example, can cost you a valuable client
because he or she is misrepresenting you and your company.
On the other hand, one of your workers may have attendance
issues or may refuse to perform certain necessary tasks.
Whatever the issue, difficult employees all
have one thing in common. They will negatively impact your
business.
So as a business owner, you must accept the
realities of handling difficult people. Here are a few tips
that will help you deal with such individuals.
Four Tips on Handling Difficult Employees
* Find out what makes your employee so frustrated
or unhappy. Start a formal conversation with your worker. Explore
why your employee has inappropriate behavior. Are they taking
on more responsibility than they can handle? Do they lack the
training to perform certain tasks? Do they have issues outside
the workplace that are affecting their performance? Take the
time to meet with your employee to get insight about their
situation. Be objective and professional.
* If your employee's problems are work related,
address their needs within reason. This is a two-way street.
You try to accommodate their needs within the boundaries of
your business. In return, you should give the worker some expectations
to meet. This involves having a professional, but honest discussion
with this individual. Give them examples of their problem behavior.
Offer alternate ways of acting so your employee may learn how
you'd prefer he or she handle similar circumstance going forward.
Set some goals and objectives.
* Meet regularly with the employee and revisit
the issues. Sometimes just monitoring the situation is enough
to get the worker to improve. This is a good way of not only
handling difficult employees but of managing all of your people.
Using this technique, you open communications with your employees
and they understand what you and the business expect.
* Take corrective action. If a difficult employee
refuses to improve, then you must begin progressive discipline.
Eventually this may lead to firing the problem employee. Therefore
make sure you follow your business policies, document your
corrective actions and follow proper termination procedures.
Many a business owners have fired an employee
believing they have "at-will" protection, only to
discover later they are at the losing end of a wrongful termination
law suit. And a difficult person in the workforce is more likely
to seek retribution after a firing. You can simply avoid this
problem by following fair and legal termination procedures.
Handling
difficult employees? Here's what you must do before they
destroy your business.
|
