subject: Dealing with Difficult Employees [print this page] Dealing with Difficult Employees Dealing with Difficult Employees
Every orchid has its rotten apples, and so each team has its difficult employees. As a manager, dealing with difficult employees effectively requires a special set of smooth but firm communication skills.
There are specific steps you can apply that create the best results with difficult employees. As a communication, the following are the ones I recommend the most:
1. Understand their motives. Difficult employees are not evil, and most of them do not intend to be difficult. They behave the way they do because they have learned it is the best way in regard to their specific needs. Seek to understand the needs and the beliefs a difficult employee operates on. It's the first step in dealing with them effectively.
2. Discuss honestly and tactfully with them. Difficult employees are only encouraged to behave in improper ways if you do not state the problem. As a manager, you are the first responsible to discuss with all your employees, and bring up any problems they create. When doing this, keep in mind to be honest, but tactful as well. It's the kind of communication style that generates the best results.
3. Set boundaries. A difficult employee is also encouraged to behave in inadequate ways if they see no reason to stop doing so. This is where firm boundaries come in. Show employees that bad behavior is not ignored and has negative consequences, while good behavior has positive consequences. Don't just state this, show it through the way you treat employees.
4. Respond in a timely manner. If the improper behavior of a difficult employee is not addressed in a timely manner, that implicitly gives them permission to keep acting the same way. And when you to decide to address it, it is harder to have a real impact the more time has passed. So, be swift with your responses.
Dealing with difficult employees may be harder than dealing with the rest, but it is not impossible. With good communication and people skills, you can turn all sorts of employees into efficient team members.
