When it comes to running a success business, finding, keeping and managing employees are essential components. A recent article titled “Tips to manage 3 kinds of problem employees,” featured on southbendtribune.com, discusses how managers can overcome problem employees to more adequately run a smooth, thriving business.
“There’s no shortage of negative employee behaviors that can have ill effects on an entire workplace,” the article reports. “Problems can arise when a behavior is not bad enough to merit discipline or termination, but bad enough that managers must do something.”
Here are a few ways to better manage three types of troublesome employees:
- The prima donnas. These employees may feel they are too good to do something because they are excellent performers. These employees must be set straight. If you have tasks that need to be performed that they may feel are too “menial,” tell them to perform the duties anyway. Give them the tasks and a completion deadline. Remind them that these duties are a part of their job description and need to be performed. Also, remind these employees that they are high performers, and you’re confident that they can handle these tasks.
- The chatterboxes. If you are in the middle of a conversation with other staff members, chatterboxes seem to constantly interrupt you. Be polite, but firm. Set boundaries, especially when the issue a chatterbox interrupted your conversation over does not warrant immediate attention. Explain to this type of employee that his/her needs can wait for a few minutes.
- The procrastinators. This type of employee gets the work done, but always waits until the last minute to start a task. “Point out the obvious — that [he/she] shouldn’t wait until the last minute, in case [he/she] needs to drop everything in order to put out a fire,” the article states. If this does not change the last-minute behavior, work with the procrastinator to prioritize and schedule the work. Establish a game plan; cut larger projects into smaller ones and set deadlines throughout.
You can find the entire article on managing problem employees here.
