DID YOU KNOW THAT PITTSBURGH IS RATED #1 AMONG "CITIES THAT ROCK?"
In 2006, Esquire magazine rated Pittsburgh as best among "Cities that Rock" in the United States, a list that includes renowned "music towns" such as New Orleans and San Francisco. That and 249 other reasons to love Pittsburgh are featured in Dr. Joanne G. Sujansky's new book Pittsburgh Will Steel Your Heart. It's not only a great gift for friends and family members; it's a unique business tool as well. Use it to reward employees, wow prospective hires, or to send a big Steel City "thank you" to clients and customers. Be sure to keep a copy for yourself, too. It's a great way to discover (or rediscover) Pittsburgh's best-kept secrets!
To purchase this unique book, call 1-800-456-5790 or visit http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=79297&ProductID=3225947
IGNORING TROUBLE MAKERS CAN COME BACK TO BITE YOU
I don't like arguments, conflict or turmoil any more than the next person. But, as a supervisor you sometimes have to deal with difficult employees. Whether we call them troublemakers, "bad apples," or disgruntled, these employees are every manager's worst nightmare. Sadly, too many managers make the nightmares worse by letting them get away with their disruptive behavior for far too long. Remember ... the price for ignoring a troublemaker may be higher than you expect!
The US Secret Service recently conducted a study of "insider attacks" in which employees -- or former employees -- sabotaged their employers' computers to the tune of millions in lost dollars. The study reported that 80% of the insiders who launched attacks on their employers exhibited negative workplace behaviors prior to the incident. The vast majority were motivated by revenge. 92% had been demoted, transferred, warned or terminated before they sabotaged their organization. ("Study Highlights Insider Threats," Sharon Gaudin, InformationWeek.com, 8-25-06)
Of course, you may not suspect that your employees could be in a position to wreck such damage if they become upset about something. But, as a recent spate of headlines demonstrates, employees at virtually any level of your organization could leak inside information, share trade secrets, "lose" customer databases, delete critical files, sabotage computer systems, or share confidential emails.
So how do you do it? How do you prevent problem employees from turning into "nightmare employees?"
"Anger ventilated often hurries towards forgiveness; anger concealed often hardens into revenge." --
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
IT ALL STARTS WITH COMMUNICATION
Leaders in a Vibrant Entrepreneurial Organizations (VEO) elevate communication to an art form. They don't leave their people in the dark. They share the big picture and make sure every employee understands the organization's critical goals. Most important in a VEO, supervisors take great pains to make sure that each employee receives detailed, regular feedback on his or her performance. Surprising an employee with negative feedback on poor performance or unacceptable behavior is a sure recipe for resentment. That's how many employees become disgruntled.
But that doesn't mean you should cater to a difficult employee, either. The idea is to be proactive in dealing with all employees to maintain a positive, productive work environment. Among the steps you can take:
- Cultivate Relationships - Take the time to get to know your team members. Meet with them one-on-one with no interruptions, and LISTEN . . . you'll be amazed at what you find out. When people know you care they will be more inclined to share.
- Acknowledge A Job Well Done - It's important to let people know they make a difference. They are more apt to repeat behaviors that got them a compliment, rather than disruptive behaviors.
- Practice What You Preach - If you seek positive attitudes among employees, exhibit a positive attitude yourself. If you are encouraging, they will be encouraging. Your team will learn more from what you do than from what you tell them.
- Kill the Grapevine - Rumors can wreak havoc on an organization so squelch rumors before they spread. You can do this by simply keeping your team informed and keeping your ear to the ground. Encourage people to ask questions and don't be afraid to admit it when you don't know something. If everyone knows exactly what is going on rumors will decrease dramatically.
- If You See A Problem, Fix It - Employees that are prone to complain about conditions at work will respond positively when they see you care about conditions too. Even if you can't fix ALL problems, at least acknowledge your concern. That way you can nip lingering resentments before they get out of control.
- Be Aggressive About Confronting Performance Problems - When you let poor performance persist you create a dual problem: you create a false sense of security in the problem employee and you discourage the good performers. Both situations have the potential to explode in your face.
"Whenever you are confronted with an opponent. Conquer him with love." --
Mahatma Gandhi
THE CONVERSATION NO SUPERVISOR WANTS TO HAVE
Supervisors don't relish the idea of telling an employee that he or she doesn't "cut the mustard." Especially when you're not sure how the employee may respond. You have to be prepared to deal with reactions such as anger, argumentativeness, and denial . . . possibly even threats. Fortunately there are strategies you can use to make these discussions constructive and helpful to both you and the employee. Even if the meeting rises to the level of employee discipline or termination, there are ways to reach the outcome you desire.
Several of our eBooks offer advice on how to turn a problem employee into a solid performer (or to turn a troublemaker into a former employee, if there's no other course):
From Renter To Owner: Performance Reviews That Transform Employee Attitudes will change the way you feel about this annual (or bi-annual) ritual. It covers how often to conduct performance reviews, the secret phrase that gets the full attention and cooperation of your employee, how to provide constructive criticism (without crushing your employee's spirit), and how to light a fire under lazy, unmotivated employees. For more details on this eBook visit http://www.howtodoaperformanceappraisal.com/.
How To Discipline an Employee: Everything You Need To Turn Underperformers into Valued Employees provides specific, real-life examples of discipline issues as well as what to say in a session and how to say it. The eBook emphasizes why it's critically important to put everything in writing, the one phrase you should never say during a discipline session and three things never to put in writing. For more details on this eBook visit http://www.howtodisciplineanemployee.com/.
For other helpful resources, visit http://www.keygroupconsulting.com/veoproducts.htm. While it's never fun to have to deal with problem employees, help is at hand. And it is way better to be proactive than to wait for a bad situation to become worse. KEYGroup can also help with dynamic programs and services that can help turn struggling employees into valuable members of the team. Just call Dr. Jan Ferri-Reed at 1-800-456-5790 for more information.
