John Ploetz Bloggin

What do you do when you’re faced with an employee who has become difficult to deal with in the office? You’ve spent time putting together a team that works well together and moves the goals of the company forward. Now you’re faced with a team member who doesn’t want to work with the team, isn’t completing their job duties or is not following the mission and goals of the company. You initially try to look back and think why you hired him or her in the first place. What has changed? Here are a few questions you need to ask in order to assess and ultimately resolve the situation.

Is the problem with this employee a symptom of other bigger issues at the company? You need to look at what is happening in that employee’s department and what tasks and projects the employees in the department are handling. Assess whether that department is running smoothly.
Has there been a recent change in the job description or duties of that employee?
a. Is the employee being asked to do additional tasks not in his or her job description?
b. Has the employee recently taken on responsibilities that he or she might not be qualified to do or are too complex for the employee to handle?
c. Is the work load too heavy for the employee?What is the collective employee attitude in the company?
What is the employee satisfaction and stress level “barometer” at the company?
a. Are employees being pushed beyond the peak work load level they can handle?
b. Are there personality conflicts within the company that are not being addressed?
c. Are there other issues that are a concern to employees that are not being addressed?
Have there been changes recently in the company?
a. Has the employee recently had a change in supervisors?
b. Has there been a recent turnover of team members in the employee’s department?
Lastly, yet hardest to assess, are there personal issues outside of work that are creating problems for the employee in the workplace?

After asking the above questions, you need to assess the situation. Get an understanding of the level of the problem. Remember, if not resolved, one problem employee can spread his or her problems to other employees, jeapordizing the team you’ve worked so hard to build. Don’t let the phrase “but he’s our top salesman” or “she’s our go to information person” allow you to put the blinders on. You originally hired this person to be part of a team. You need to get the person back in the team fold and refocused on promoting the broader company goals.

This type of situation won’t be the last you’ll encounter so taking the time to understand his or her motivations and concerns is an important learning experience. Use is it as an opportunity for both you and the employee to gain experience and insight.

Simple communication is most effective. Sit down and have a one on one discussion. The discussion about the issue doesn’t need to require a reprimand be placed in the personnel file. Try to be open and let the employee know your areas of concern. Give the employee a chance to explain. Set down a plan of action including a time frame to make appropriate changes.

Dealing with a difficult employee is like dealing with any employee situation:

Get the facts;
Assess the situation;
be communicative;
be open;
and be proactive.

Next up – Who’s Idea was it anyway – giving employees credit for a job well done.

John Ploetz

20 Sep, 2013

John Ploetz Bloggin

A slow office still needs to stay busy. You might think if you’re running your business right your employees and your business should be consistently busy. But sometimes even when the business is flowing there will be stretches when things slow down. Here are some steps you can take to keep things running smoothly over the rough patches.

If things are slow for just a few employees, do some assessment to see if there are bottlenecks somewhere in the company that can be adjusted so work process flows more smoothly from area to area. Cross training employees to help out in other departments is always helpful.
Always be careful what you say to your employees. As the boss you set the tone in the workplace. If your comments and body language come across as negative or discouraging it can affect the morale of your employees. Always put forth a positive and upbeat attitude with your employees.
Be open as possible when answering or discussing the current company situation. Sometimes, however, less information is better. If you have to let employees know be truthful about what is going on in a brief discussion and limit it to the impact on that employee. Depending on the nature of the slowdown, meeting with employees in a group or individually might be needed to alleviate fears and clarify how the slowdown will affect different employees. Continue to let your employees know that you appreciate their efforts.
Let employees know that they need to focus on their duties. Make it clear that any questions or concerns should be brought to the attention of their direct supervisor. Make sure each supervisor is in agreement on keeping lines of communication open and addressing any employee concerns as soon as possible. Rumors can be put to rest quickly when lines of communication are kept open.
You should have a list of tasks that you want to complete when things slow down. Include the cost by each task so you can quickly decide what you can afford to do at the moment. Some ideas include:
Reorganize the office.
Send employees to computer training classes.
Have a team building event.
Do an employee skills and interest assessment.
Hold a safety training class.
Add an extra employee responsibility that will help generate revenue. Make sure it is something that fits in the goals of the company and is not a task that will distract an employee from his or her other job duties. Make it clear to the employee how the extra task can be fit into their daily schedule and that once the slowdown is over job duties will be reassessed.

Maintaining employee morale and keeping a positive outlook will go a long way in making it through any slow patches.

Next up – Handling the Difficult Employee.

John Ploetz

11 Sep, 2013

John Ploetz Bloggin

How can you maintain a positive workplace? In any workplace there are numerous personalities. While you may not want to live with the people you work with, the bottom line is that you may spend more time at work with them then you do with your family at home. Some coworkers blend well with together well, while others interact like vinegar and water. I’ve come up with some easy things to keep in mind to create and keep a positive fun atmosphere alive in your workplace while still getting the work done.

1. Assume that your fellow employees have the same goal of working to make the company more successful. Before you question why a person is doing something, know that people take different paths to get to similar outcomes. Give coworkers the benefit of the doubt before questioning their work.

2. Please and thank you. This is just common courtesy.

3. Let a person know when you are wrong. Admit if you make a mistake, sooner is always better than later.

4. If you ask for feedback from someone be prepared to hear things you may not like. Treat constructive responses as just that and do not take them personally. Make sure to respond to the feedback in a timely manner and let them know how you will follow up.

5. Remember your co-workers are just that “co-workers”. Always keep interaction on a professional basis. You can be friendly but in the end you are all there for business not personal reasons.

6. Communication is 99% of the game. Make sure you know how co-workers want to receive messages – e-mail, phone, text, etc. If you are not sure ask them.

7. Praise when warranted goes a long way. If someone did a good job on a project let them know. Mentioning it in front of coworkers may be appropriate depending on the situation. If something wasn’t done correctly, don’t chastise a worker in front of co-workers unless explaining what went wrong is necessary and will provide a positive experience for all involved.

8. Impromptu monthly lunch at the office or bagels or rolls in the morning are always a great way to lift employee morale especially if employees have been extra busy on a project. Let employees know that you appreciate their efforts at these impromptu events.

9. Team events can be set up for a couple of hours during a work day. Respect employees’ time and make sure events are planned and scheduled on company time. You might like spending time with your staff but remember for most it is still a job, so planning and scheduling work functions on off time is a no no. Events can include volunteer for a nonprofit event, having an office clean up day, or sending out care packages to veterans or other nonprofit groups.

Remember employees like feeling appreciated and respected. It can be the little things that keep employees happy in the workplace

Next up – Handling a Slow Office