“The reality is that most employers don’t like terminations.” This statement from a valuable whitepaper about “problem people” set the tone for some valuable suggestions when an employee just isn’t cutting it. To begin, the author – who is an employment attorney – describes problem people as those who create drama, are never happy and spend an inordinate amount of time complaining. No one wants to deal with them and frankly, they’re exhausting. Moreover, they poison the well, so to speak. However, the point of the article is that sometimes other issues are at play and as managers, we need to know what the goal is. Is it to improve performance? Or is it to work the steps and cover our company’s backside on the road to termination?
While to us, the author seems to dance on the fine line of hand-holding & Kumbaya versus corrective action plans, she does put forth some excellent suggestions. The progressive discipline process can create more angst and drama, especially if the employee (or manager) isn’t clear on what improvement looks like or if there are other factors aggravating the situation. Ideally, the correction process is about helping the employee meet the company’s standards for the work, but in honesty, we’ve seen managers who really aren’t clear on that, or who tolerate substandard work from others but seem to be on a crusade against one team member. Putting that aside, though, let’s acknowledge that people’s personal baggage comes to work with them.
Someone’s sick. A bad breakup. A health issue. These can certainly affect work product and may not be readily visible. Do we know what’s going on with the employee? In a culture of trust, the worker might touch on some personal factors aggravating the work situation; in other companies, it may be tantamount to handing HR the noose with which to hang him. That question requires more of a corporate self-assessment than we can accomplish in a simple blog, but it’s worth considering. The bottom line is to ask if we’re seeing the actual problem or symptoms of something else.
Assuming the employee wants to remain in the position – a big assumption, as that may not be the case – the article puts forth Five Ts to try before termination:
- Offer time off. Managers should be knowledgeable of the company’s PTO policy and try some creativity to see if the worker just needs a short break in order to regroup.
- Offer treatment. Perhaps the employee needs to talk things out with someone. Checking into your EAP program or health insurance coverage may result in a needed lifeline for your worker.
- Consider training. Sometimes people think they know and managers think the employee knows. And the longer someone’s been employed, the harder it might be to ask foundational questions. Retraining can be an opportunity to fine-tune some points, fill in knowledge gaps or just reinforce certain concepts, and get the worker back on a good path.
- Transfer. While we certainly don’t want to foist a challenging employee on another manager, a different role could be the breath of fresh air the employee needs to rise to the work needed.
- Trust. This last point is about giving employees more control over their work-day and trusting them to get the work done. A very rigid system can be stifling, so allowing for more autonomy may be just the balm to improve engagement and productivity.
Sometimes the relationship isn’t salvageable and both parties have to be okay with that. The biggest takeaway is that here too, creativity can make this a more positive outcome for all. Allowing flexibility while the employee searches for a new job or even offering severance pay can be a win-win: the employer needn’t worry about claims or lawsuits and the worker receives a cushion while she evaluates her next step.