HR MANAGEMENT - How to Deal With Unpleasant Employees

How to Deal With Unpleasant Employees

by Amie Martin, Demand Media

One unpleasant employee may adversely affect everyone, including customers.

Employees are human, and everyone has a bad day now and then. When the unpleasant, difficult or even insubordinate behavior of one employee becomes a pattern, however, it may impact the morale and productivity of others, leading to disillusionment with management and turnover. It can also affect your customers and income. Even seasoned managers prefer not to deal with unpleasant employees, but it is a business necessity in such cases. Fortunately, there are good guidelines to help small businesses, in particular, or company departments, in general, through the process.

Step 1

Evaluate the situation personally whenever you hear complaints about the behavior of one of your employee's. Ask yourself whether it was perhaps a one-time reaction from an otherwise stellar employee. Also, consider the source. Is the person you are hearing complaints from an employee about whom others generally voice similar complaints? If so, your employee may be struggling with ways to push back in order to relieve the growing negative impact of the complainer. Either way, your personal involvement is warranted.

Step 2

Research complaints from others and your company's policy regarding employee conduct if you determine the issue to be ongoing. You'll want to be well-informed of the entire behavioral situation, as well as company and legal issues. If the particular employee's behavior in question is generally exhibited toward you, write down clear, concise and objective examples. If you are acting on complaints from others, try to monitor the situation directly for a short period of time so you can present those examples as first-hand observations without bringing other employees into a difficult situation.

Step 3

Address the situation as soon as possible and privately if your evaluation and research reveal an ongoing problem. Consider the relationship you have with the employee in question, especially if you are a manager in a small business where relationships may be closer. In these cases, a formal process at this stage, such as a verbal or written warning, may not be necessary. If possible, set the meeting on-site but in a location or at a time that will prevent other employees from noticing. There is no need to exacerbate an already unpleasant situation with office gossip and politics.

Step 4

Conduct your meeting with a coaching or mentoring mind-set. Although you are the manager, it is generally to your benefit to confront this type of situation as a teammate, albeit one deserving of a higher level of respect. Depending on the results of your personal evaluation and research, coupled with your own experience with the employee, try to bring him into a dialogue with you. Start with something like "How are things going at work?" or "I need your help with some negative behaviors I've observed" and foster a partnership with your employee to resolve it. Give him a chance to speak his mind during this meeting; if he voices legitimate concerns, such as increased workload with decrease in pay due to current economic times, ask how you can help. He may just want to be heard.

Step 5

Conclude your meeting by outlining a course of action that includes expectations, follow-up meeting date and potential consequences. Give your employee a chance to correct her behavior, and hold up your end of the bargain if that is part of your agreed-upon course of action, such as more specific direction from you or realignment of department responsibilities to relieve her stress. Whether you use this meeting as a verbal warning or document it as a written warning is up to you and your company's policy at this stage.

Step 6

Praise the improvement in your employee's behavior in your follow-up meeting, if warranted, and continue your dialogue with him. If you gave him a written warning per your company guidelines, be sure to write a positive follow-up to it. If, on the other hand, the behavioral situation has not changed -- or has worsened -- further action may be necessary.

Step 7

Consult with your human resources department or upper management for company-specific policies on how to proceed with potential termination.