We’ve all been there, you have a member of your team who just cannot seem to get to work on time, or always phones in sick on a Monday or makes the same mistake even though, you know, they know, what they are doing. So what do you do? Well in my experience of HR quite often nothing! Until you reach a tipping point, storm into the HR office, have a rant and demand to know what you can do about it.
Your helpful HR professional will at that point, shine a light in your eyes and interrogate you as to what you’ve done to address this behaviour. Ok so they probably won’t shine a light in your eyes but they will want to know what action has been taken. Sometimes a conversation has taken place however, there hasn’t been any follow up and action set. The behaviour might have improved for a period of time and then starts again.
So what can you do? Many managers shy away from having difficult conversations because they don’t know how to approach them or they worry about what they can and can’t say. Your employees have (hopefully) got a contract of employment, this contract should clearly set out what your expectations are. You should also have a set of comprehensive policies, having clear guidelines will ensure consistency when managing staff.
In my experience, most situations could have been avoided if the manager had sat down with their team member and spoken to them the first few times a situation had occurred.
For example, John is late for work its ‘only’ 10 minutes, he doesn’t say anything as he walks in and nor do you. Suddenly, John is always 10 minutes late, still no acknowledgement and no effort to make the time up. 10 minutes doesn’t seem like a lot, but if its happening every day that’s nearly an hour, in addition everyone else is on time and they see John turning up late and, that nothing is being done about it. This will start to cause underlying resentment and friction. Now what if everyone is 10 minutes late, how much time and productivity have you lost?
Imagine this scenario instead, John is late and he doesn’t say anything you’re a bit annoyed but you let it go, we’re all late sometimes. Then John is late again, instead of ignoring it, you ask to speak to him. You explain that you notice he has been late several times and you ask for an explanation, there isn’t one. You ask how he plans to make the time up and you lay out your expectations that everyone should get to work 10 minutes before they are due to start, so that they are ready to work at the appointed time. Then you follow it up with an email.
In most cases the behaviour stops, no-one wants to stay later at work and it is clear to them they cannot get away with it. The rest of your team will know the conversation has happened, which means you avoid dissatisfaction and similar behaviour from them. Having the conversation also means that you can find out if there are any issues you don’t know about. For example, a personal situation which is causing the lateness and which you can help support.
This model may help:
Balance – approach the conversation with a balanced mindset
Reality – State facts not emotions.
Accountability – Define responsibilities, who needs to do what.
Voice – Have a two way conversation and make sure you listen
Execution – Make sure there are clear next steps.
Try this next time you need to have a difficult conversation, be BRAVE and most situations can be resolved. Need coaching around this contact me at bev@bdhr.co.uk for a free discussion as to how I can help.
