Jan 05 2009
What To Do With Bad Apples?
I was thinking about this discussion between Ron and myself when I realized that most often we know when there is a “weak link” in the organization. Now the question becomes what o we do about it?
How much time and effort do we put in to try and convert the individual to a strong team member?
Unfortunately I think part of the answer lies within how important the person is to the organization and how detremental is the behavior? A salesperson that sells 2 million dollars a year in profitable work, the brother of the owner who has a silver platter mentality and a field laborer will probaly all be treated differently.
I have a strong belief that when the meeting on that fateful day when you must separate the indivdual from the organization arrives it should not be a surprise to either party. That goes for the salesman, brother and field worker alike.
Therefore it is essential to clearly communicate reasonable performance expectations and when they are not substantially met the situation needs to be adressed in a very timely fashion.
Ultimately the employee should be placed on a defined personal improvement plan for 30 -90 days. This is when leading turns into managing because now the supervisor needs to meet with the individual on the PIP once a week to discuss progress on short and medium term expectations. With a positive attitude towards change from the employee and proper management of expectations and results, often the person can be turned into a valuable human asset of the corporation. If the PIP fails to produce results then it is time to make a change for that position.
The benefit of this process is that you have documentation along the way that reinforces either decision. If you would like more information on personal improvement plans or you need help coaching difficult employees feel free to contact Guy or Ron.
Ron I think we are on the same team playng doubles. Your Serve!
Interesting post and very much right on. In addition to talking with contractors almost daily, editors of Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction perform “reader calls” each year to keep tabs on what’s going on in the industry.
One question we always ask is “What keeps you up at night?” and for years the #1 answer has been something related to employees. Whether it’s finding good ones (a big concern), keeping good ones (a common concern), or managing/motivating (also common), owners recognize that their employees will make or break their organization. In addition, I can’t tell you how many contractors have told me over the years that they would like to grow their business but are held back because they can’t find quality workers.
Great post. my partner and i have been talking about this same subject lately.