9 Steps For Dealing With Difficult Employees In The Workplace

Have you ever had an employee that drives you absolutely crazy? Managing people is a demanding and intensive part of running a business. Every person has a unique personality and at some point in your career you’ll be faced with the frustrating situation of dealing with difficult employees in the workplace.

Dealing with difficult employees is a tough thing to do. It definitely has a draining effect on you, the company, and other workers. These people make it harder to do your job and that’s something that must be addressed as soon as possible.

Difficult employees come in all shapes and sizes. They may be constantly negative, drama queens, procrastinators, victims, too smart for their own good, underperformers, bullies, or anything else that makes a negative impact on the office environment. These people cause unnecessary issues and it’s your job to find solutions.

Here are the steps you need to take for dealing with difficult employees in the workplace:

1. Recognize The Problem – Take the time to engage and interact with your team. Get to know them and learn what they are really like for yourself. Don’t rely on other people’s opinions or stories.
2. Listen To All Sides Of The Story – Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Try to understand what’s happening from every point of view. When you do this, you might be able to solve problems before they get out of hand.
3. Provide Feedback – If an employee is difficult, give them relevant feedback that can help them to address the situation.
4. Find Solutions – Go out of your way to find solutions to problems. It may be very simple to deal with difficult employees if you can define the root of the problem and fix it.
5. Show Consistency – Always be fair and consistent when dealing with your team.
6. Keep It Professional – No matter what happens, keep all interactions professional. Never take another person’s poor behavior personally.
7. Establish Consequences – If the problem behaviors continue after the above steps, it’s time to establish consequences for negative behaviors and inappropriate actions. If things continues, it’s time to take action.
8. Document Everything – It should go without saying, but you need to document everything that happens. With a document trail in place it’s easier to verify facts. Documentation is a necessary thing to have if you need to fire someone.
9. Fire Them – If the difficult employee’s actions and behaviors affect their job, their co-workers, or the business it might be time to take more drastic measures. It’s never any fun to fire someone, but sometimes it has to be done.

Dealing with difficult employees in the workplace is part of your job. It’s essential if you want your business to run smoothly. Do your best to address the issue in a professional and timely manner so that you can keep your business and your team on the fast track to success.

8 Types Of Toxic Employees That Are Poisoning Your Office

One of the best ways to deal with difficult employees is to never hire difficult employees in the first place. Of course, some will slip through the cracks in the hiring process, but if you apply the right hiring techniques you can increase your chances of always hiring the best person for the job.

Good luck.