Dealing with Troubled Employees

Has one of the people who report to you recently made you angry or frustrated?

If the answer is YES, read on .

Friction frequently arises when people depend on one another to get work accomplished. If co-workers don’t get something done on time, or somehow drop the ball, you feel “something”—anger, disappointment, frustration—and you may feel that “something” very strongly.

Of course, the first step is to talk about what happened and to try and resolve the issue. However, if you are finding that the work of one employee in particular frequently raises your emotional temperature, you might want to consider that he or she may be having troubles outside the job. Those troubles may be martial, financial, or perhaps the employee has suffered a loss or is dealing with a sick relative.

These are situations our clients have shared with us about situations they have had to address:

• Cynthia lost her father recently, and she cannot focus on her job. Cynthia is often weepy.
• A long-time salesperson is having tremendous difficulty working because his spouse is ill with breast cancer.
• Debra is coping with a clinically depressed husband.
• Sonya holds a full-time job and is also the primary caregiver for her ill and disabled mother.
• David’s 18-year old child recently dies of leukemia.

These personal heartaches are not uncommon in any organization. While you may not know the details of your employee’s lives, you may have noticed a decline in one employee’s work that does not improve, even though you have tried to address it. This decline may be a  tip-off that you are dealing with someone who is struggling.

Don’t go it alone. Most of us can’t sort our difficult situations by ourselves. We need help. (And many of us forget that asking for help is a powerful leadership quality.) Consult with someone who knows how to compassionately untangle messiness, perhaps an employee assistance counselor, or HR specialist or a coach.

Before diving into the nuts-and-bolts of how to work with the issue, talk with your helper about what an ideal relationship with this employee would look like.

Imagine your best hope for the situation. Run a scenario with the person you are consulting with, regarding what is your greatest hope for the outcome of this situation. Then look at what already exists that could make that hope a reality, for instance, your employee is typically a person that can be counted on, even if that is not the case at the moment.

Then talk about your worst nightmare. Your worst fear may be that the performance will continue to slide and that the rest of the team will be impacted. You think this is a possibility because you have tried to talk with the employee, given them balanced feedback and support and have seen no improvement in their behavior.

You are in a good position to talk about next steps. Some possible next steps that could arise might be: role playing the conversation beforehand, acknowledging the person’s struggle and their accomplishments, asking them about what is possible for them given their difficulties, and alerting senior management about how you are handling the situation.

Don’t ignore a developing problem. Ignoring a problem does not solve it. In fact, doing nothing just might make the situation worse. Pick up the telephone and get help at the first signs of trouble. Early action will frequently eliminate the need for discipline.

Be a role model. Support the individual who is struggling, while continuing to promote office morale and productivity. It may be helpful to ask your employee what the office can do to relieve some of the work stress during this difficult time.

Knowing the “right thing” to say someone who is struggling or grieving is not critical, but a few guidelines are helpful. Saying nothing is worse than saying the wrong thing.

  Appropriate words are:

• “I am sorry to hear about your loss/difficulties”
• “You are (or have been) in my thoughts”
• “How are you doing?” or
• “I don’t know what to say, but if I can be of any help, I’m here.”

Offering time to listen can be helpful, as can temporarily taking over some burdensome tasks. Managers also can show appreciation to team members who may be carrying an extra load due to the situation. Remember recognition and acknowledgement goes a long way to encourage consistent engagement of your staff.

Most employees can and will resolve their problems, given time and support. Sweeping the problems under the carpet just makes a big pile under the rug!

(Slightly abridged from the source: “Dealing with Troubled Employees” by Nicki Weiss and Joanne McLean, Founders, PharmaMatters | 10 May 2010)