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Welcome from HR Strategy Group
Happy New Year and Welcome to 2015!!
The start of the new year can bring such welcome opportunities to start anew, address those things you've been putting off, and put a fresh foot forward. With that in mind, this month's article addresses one of those tough topics that we are all more likely to put off than address - Dealing with Difficult Employees. With some understanding on how to view these individuals and steps your can take to address them, you will be well on the way to managing them and moving your projects forward.
Another area of concern in the workplace is Incivility. On a small or large scale, this type of behavior can have significant impact on your employees, customers and ultimately your bottom line. Our Compensation Corner this month provides a white paper from our partner, PayScale, that looks into this challenging issue.
So buckle your seat belts as we all dive into the new year. I wish you all luck, health, happiness and prosperity. And always remember, HR Strategy Group is here to help you with your challenging HR issues!
Best,
Amy Polefrone, President
HR Strategy Group, LLC
410-505-8723
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Dealing with Difficult Employees -
While Keeping Your Sanity in Check
By Amy Polefrone & Kim Grounds
We all have seen them and we've all had to work with them... Difficult employees! Face it, as long as you are interacting with human beings in the workplace, there will be those who you adore, are independent and really get the job done. And then there will be those - who won't. As a leader in your organization, you need to harness in the "problem children" both to ensure they can be productive and that you won't pull your hair out while they work for you. The following three suggestions can help you minimize the impact of difficult employees, from the very start - at the point of hiring.
TIP #1: Clarify Expectations.
Develop and implement a hiring system to hire the best employees. Develop meaningful job descriptions & job guidelines. Develop job and performance guidelines. Have an employment handbook which describes employment and conduct standards. If it's not written down, it's not clarified.
TIP #2: Train Your Employee in your Expectations
Provide new hire training. Provide job training. Provide ongoing periodic training for your employees as it relates to job and conduct standards. Don't assume that your employees "know what they should do" (ex: telephone etiquette). Train and invest in your employees. Training your employees is a key, strategic advantage for your company. Tell them what you are going to teach them, teach them, and tell them what you taught them.
To read more (and there is lots more....), click here.
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Incivility and Other Types of Workplace Aggression
What it is, What it Costs, and How to Stop it
One study estimates that between 75 and 100 percent of American workers have experienced some instance of incivility on the job. In another article, the authors present research indicating that nearly 98 percent of employees have experienced incivility at work.
In "What is Workplace Incivility, Why Should We Care, and What Should We Do?,
" author Mike Sliter, citing Andersson and Pearson (Tit for tat? The spiraling effect of incivility in the workplace, Academy of Management Review, 1999, 24:267-85), defines incivility as "a low intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm the target, in violation of workplace norms for mutual respect and courtesy."
Incivility includes such things as not refilling the coffee pot, stealing co-workers' food from the refrigerator, and sending edgy emails that straddle the line between barely professional and noticeably rude.
The cost of incivility (included decreased creativity, decreased morale, customer disdain--customers do not like overhearing coworkers mistreat each other--and time spent mending damages to relationships) are significant.
These costs are merely interpersonal, however. Any astute leader knows that every human cost has a financial cost (including a cost to both direct and indirect compensation), as well.
To read the complete article, click here.
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