Problem Employees – what are the top 3? 

Employee management is a delicate balancing act.  Whether you are running a business giant or small startup, problem employees are a part of any business equation and sooner or later you would have to tackle them as a manager or business owner. Whatever the outcome, you should have a plan handy to tackle such employees.

Identifying problem employees can be easy sometimes and at others, it can be tricky. The “obvious problem employees” may display typical behaviour issues like irregular attendance or inability to deliver targets and results. However, sometimes, problem employees may be “deeply embedded” in your business and may be causing “not so obvious, but far reaching trouble” like workplace rumours and resultant demoralising effect. In any case, the problem employees need to be handled sensibly and smartly to ensure that the trouble is handled in time before it spreads beyond control.

This article points at the most troublesome of the problem employees in any system with the most commonly encountered behavioural issues and suggests strategies to handle them. Here are the tops 3 problem employees, regardless of the size and scope of your workplace on the Gold Coast:

• The one that doesn’t knit well with the company culture and team. One of the most frequently encountered problem employee in any business that is not “instep” with the workplace culture. The problem is manifested in many forms like; not getting along with fellow employees, showing indifference to business practices and not responding to the coaching, counselling and workplace training in a positive manner (such an employee can be easily termed as “odd man out”).

Such employees are not hard to spot and it is just the matter of time before they surface as “problem employees”. They negatively affect your business in more than one way. They send negative vibes through the workplace and leave a trail for others to follow (if left unchecked). They are usually inefficient or “deliver results in their own devised ways” that may be divergent to the company operating policy. Even when they deliver results, it does not suit a business in the long run, if it is divergent to company operation rules.Introducing probationary periods, call in’s for internship and careful screening at the time of recruitment are some of the measures to check the induction of such employees.

• The one with irregular attendance. The next in the list of most found problem employee is this. There may be a few who have genuine health or family issues that need to be accommodated, but any employee with responsible behavior would never miss working hours or remain absent without intimation. Responsible employees showing this tendency may be inviting you to revisit your business leave and vacations policy (without saying a word). Problem employees (not responding to counseling even) need to be dealt more firmly. You may be left with the termination option ultimately.

• The rumour factory type. Bad mouthed, fowl speaking and rumor creating employees are next in the list of problem employees. They are usually “negative personalities” and lend a typical negative essence to a workplace with their negativity. They are a “sure” bad influence to other employees and may cost you business by dealing the customers negatively. Such employees need to be tackled as soon as they are identified. Open communication within a company, declared workplace policies and transparent practices are good workplaces strategies to handle such problem employees.