How to Deal With Difficult Employees

If you've been a manager for long, you know that things can go wrong even in the best of organizations. Problem behavior on the part of employees can erupt for a variety of reasons. Here are ten tips for dealing with it.

1. Recognize that problem behavior usually has a history.

It usually develops over time and seldom from a single incident. As a manager, it is your responsibility to be alert to the early warning signs and deal with the underlying causes before the situation reaches a crisis.

2. Ask yourself: "Am I partly or wholly responsible?"

You would be surprised how frequently it is the manager who has created, or at least contributed to problems of employee behavior. Having an abrasive style, being unwilling to listen, and being inattentive to the nuances of employee behavior are all factors that contribute to the manager's need to thoroughly examine what is going on.

3. Don't focus only on the overt behavior.

When confronted by an angry employee, it's easy to attack the person and target the behavior rather than examine the factors that underlie the behavior. Often, this takes patience, careful probing, and a willingness to forgo judgment until you really understand the situation.

4. Be attentive to the "awkward silence" and to what may be missing.

When an employee is obviously reluctant to communicate, it's almost a sure sign that more lurks beneath the surface. Often, employees will withhold because they feel unsafe. They may test the waters by airing a less severe or kindred issue in order to see what kind of a response they get. In order to get the full story and encourage forthrightness, it's imperative that the manager read between the lines and offer the concern and support necessary to get the employee to open up.

5. Clarify before your confront.

Chances are, when an issue first surfaces, you will be given only a fragmentary and partial picture of the problem. You may have to dig deep to surface important facts, and talk to others who may be involved. One safe assumption is that each person will tend to present the case from his or her viewpoint, which may or may not be the way it really is. Discretion and careful fact-finding are often required to get a true picture.

6. Be willing to explore the possibility that you have contributed to the problem.

This isn't easy, even if you have reason to believe it's so, because you may not be fully aware of what you have done to fuel the fire. Three helpful questions to ask yourself: "Is this problem unique, or does it have a familiar ring as having happened before?", "Are others in my organization exhibiting similar behaviors?", and finally, "Am I partially the cause of the behavior I am criticizing in others?"

7. Plan your strategy.

Start by defining, for yourself, what changes you would like to see take place, Then, follow this sequence: (1) Tell the person that there is a problem. State the problem as you understand it and explain why it is important that it be resolved; (2) Gain agreement that you've defined the problem correctly, and that the employee understands that it must be solved; (3) Ask for solutions, using open-ended questions such as: "What are you willing to do to correct this problem?" In some cases, you may have to make it clear what you expect; (4) Get a commitment that the employee will take the required actions; (5) Set deadlines for completing the actions. In the case of a repeated problem, you may want to advise the employee of the consequences of failing to take corrective action; (6) Follow up on the deadlines you've set.

8. Treat the employee as an adult and expect adult behavior.

To some extent, expectation defines the result. If you indicate, by your actions or by the content or tone of your voice, that you expect less than full adult behavior, that's what you're likely to get.

9. Treat interpersonal conflicts differently.

If the problem behavior stems from a personality conflict between two employees, have each one answer these questions: (1) How would you describe the other person?; (2) How does he or she make you feel?; (3) Why do you feel that the other person behaves the way he/she does?; (4) What might you be able to do to alleviate the situation?; (5) What would you like the other person to do in return?.

10. Seek agreement regarding steps to be taken and results expected.

Nothing is really "fixed" unless it stays fixed. All parties to a dispute must agree that the steps taken (or proposed) will substantially alleviate the problem. Further, they must agree on what they will do IF the results attained are not as anticipated. This can be achieved by doing a simple role play, i.e., having each side (including your own) articulate the steps to be taken and the outcomes anticipated. That way, even if subsequent events are significantly different than expected, the lines of communication for adjusting the situation are opened.

Why do some Business managers reach the gain goal more often than others? They do it because they keep their operation pointed in
this direction - management of profit making. They never drop sight of the goal - to finish the year with a profit.

This manual Gives suggestions that should enable an owner-manager to zero on profit earning. It points out that you must stay
informed, make timely decisions, and take action. In effect you need to control the actions of your organization instead of being
controlled by them.

Topnotch Functionality in golfing, shooting, and fishing demands understanding, training, and endurance.

Similarly, in Small businesses, year-end profit arrives to the owner-manager who tries for topnotch performance. You achieve
profit making targets by understanding your performance, by practicing the craft of making timely, balanced judgments and by
controlling the company's activities.

Adapt the Tips in this manual to your circumstance. They ought to help you predict the shots to keep your business headed in the
right direction - toward profit making.

First Rule of Profit Making: Know Your Business. The Time-honored truth"Knowledge is power" is especially pertinent to the
owner-manager of a small business. To keep your business pointed toward profit you need to keep yourself well informed about it.
You must be aware of how the organization is doing before you can enhance its operation. You have to know its weak points before
you may correct them. A number of the knowledge you require you pick up from day-to-day personal observation, but documents should
be your principal source of advice about profits, costs, and sales.

Know Your Gain. The gain and loss statement (or income Statement) prepared frequently each month or every quarter from your
accountant is one of the most vital indicators of your company's worth and health. You should make certain that this announcement
contains all of the details you need for assessing your gain. This announcement must pinpoint each revenue and cost area. By way
of example, it should show the profit and loss for each of your products and product lines as well as the gain and loss for your
whole operation.

It's a good Thought to have your profit and loss statement prepared so that it reveals every single item for the current interval,
for the identical period last year, and for your current year-to-date. By way of example, a P&L statement for the month of
November would reveal expenses and income for the current month, for November last year, and prices for the eleven months of this
present calendar year. Many businesses publish their annual reports with a few previous decades therefore stockholders can compare
earnings.

Comparison is The trick to utilizing your P&L announcement. If your accountant is not already supplying figures that you may
compare, you should discuss the possibility of having them supplied.

Financial Ratios out of the balance sheet also help you to understand whether your profit is what it ought to be. For example, the
ratio of net worth (return on investment ratio) shows what the business brought on the equity capital invested.

Know Your Costs. An owner-manager should understand prices in detail. Then, you can compare your cost figures as a percentage of
sales (operating ratio). Be sure your prices are itemized so that you can put your fingers on the ones that appear to be climbing
or decreasing according to your experience and the price figures of your industry. When prices are itemized, you can spot the
offender once the general figure is greater than what you had budgeted. Take advertising costs such as. You can grab the offender
should you split out your advertising expenses by product lines and by websites. In addition, a thorough check of inquiry returns
from advertisements will help avoid unsuccessful books.

In understanding your Prices, keep in mind that the formulation for profit is: Profit equals Sales minus Costs.

Know Your Product Markup. Be certain That the pricing of your products supplies a markup adequate for the kind of profit you
expect to achieve. You have to keep constantly informed on pricing because you have to adjust for increasing costs and at the
exact same time keep prices competitive. Knowledge on your markup also helps you to run close outs with your eyes open. Continuing
to generate something that only a few customers desire is a powerful merchandising tool just once you use it on purpose - for
example, to hold or attract buyers to additional high markup solutions. Do not be afraid to shed a loser from online.

Garbage-In, Garbage-Out. An Owner-manager shouldn't fudge the documents. The acronym GIGO the computer business uses is true with
manually kept records as well as with machine-processed ones. If an owner-manager lets"garbage" to go into the records, the
accounts will contain"garbage" Reports need not be extensive but they must be accurate.

Look For Trends. Try to not look at a single month's earnings or Profit image by itself. The characters on your operating
statements are significant only when you set the image in the right framework - that is, look in the characters from the context
of what's happened and what's likely to take place. In that fashion, you catch a downward trend before it gets out of control.

You should also Concern yourself with all the figures behind the bucks - for example, the amount Of units sold or the number of
orders. Insist on cost-per-unit figures. The Fluctuation of the cost-per-unit can be much more meaningful than just looking At the
dollar figures alone. Another idea would be to display these comparative Figures on graphs so that important trends can be viewed
readily.

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