In earlier posts, I’ve blogged about dealing with problem employees. Specifically, I’ve highlighted the significance of determining whether your issue with your problem employee is one of performance, behaviour or attitude, and the importance of articulating the problem, clearly and succinctly, so that the employee “gets it”.
But before you ever raise the issue with the employee, you need to ask yourself a very important question – is it important? Does what the employee is doing really matter to overall team performance and productivity. Or is it just an irritant that drives you crazy but in the end has no negative effect on productivity or performance. Ask yourself – what would happen if I took no action? The unfortunate truth is that employees often say or do things that aggravate and infuriate us, but ultimately have no impact on team productivity or department performance. If that’s true, then let it go! Take a deep breath and ignore it. If you are a manager or supervisor, you’ve got enough on your plate to deal with, without taking on issues that don’t have a negative impact on overall operations. Only if it is truly important should you continue to move forward and raise the issue with your employee.
So … do you agree?