How to deal with a bad employee

November 11, 2009

With the economy still not amazing for business owners (or anyone, really), a business must be as efficient as possible to stay afloat. Bad computers, equipment, products or clients can make things very rough on a company, but nothing is as toxic as a bad employee. A lot like mercury, a single bad employee in a sea of good ones, can ruin the batch. The sad thing is that these tough economic times are also hard on employees, so it’s tough to keep everyone happy and working when everything around them seems to be struggling. However, if you have a bad employee all hope is not lost. Here are a few things that can help everyone win:

1) Be honestly optimistic.

Your employees aren’t stupid. They know that the company may not be thriving right now. Before you approach a bad employee you have to realize that they may be thinking (perhaps even justifiably) that they could be laid off soon. Honest, open communication is the best tool to prevent this. Tell your employees that things aren’t where they need to be, but their jobs are safe so long as certain requirements are met. If you admit your ship has some water on it, but explain that it isn’t sinking, you may find many of your deckhands quick to start bailing water instead of jumping ship. Be honest, if you need a certain amount of new clients to be comfy, tell everyone and let them help, they have as much stake in the company as you. They’re relying on their jobs.

2) Get personal.

If you’ve been honest and an employee is still underperforming or harboring a bad attitude, it needs to be addressed. Never start the conversation with “You have a bad attitude, what’s up?” Find out what’s happening in their life. It may be work related, it may not be, either way, there may still be something you or HR could do to help. If an employee is struggling, a boss that seems high and mighty, fat and rich, may only infuriate them more. Being personable, relating to their problems (which you could very well be having, too), could form a friendship and loyalty which makes a huge difference.

3) Performance Review.

If you’ve done your best to be honest, and relatable, and you’re still dealing with poor performance and attitude, it’s time to take action. After all, it’s still a business and they do have a job to do. A subtle, informal performance review (or a full-on formal HR one, your choice) could show an employee that they’re on the radar where they don’t want to be. It can be a wake-up call or a last straw for them, but either way it’s a solution moving you in the right direction: Either you have a new, happy employee, or you get to go find a new, happy employee. If it happens to be the 2nd option, give us a call, we’ll get you a happy well-matched employee in a flash. It’s what we do.

Back to articles

Archive