Words: 1628
How to deal with problem employees INTRO You must introduce and define the topic in relationship to supervision Problem employees inevitably surface in most workplaces and sometimes employers need to counsel their employees and on occasions employers must discipline the employee. In an organization top-management often formulate the standards that supervisors must use when they have to deal with problem employees.
A supervisor must have the skills required to organize, staff, lead, and control which includes the ability and talent required to deal with problem employees. Paragraph 1 In the workplace sometimes employee problems are obvious, such as attendance issues or the failure to deliver results. Other times, a workplace harbors a problem and an employer might not immediately know the cause until the issue explodes. In order to gain a better understanding of employee problems it is necessary to discuss the most common and UN-common types.
First, the most common types involve performance issues, absenteeism and tardiness, insubordination and inconsiderateness, alcohol and drug abuse, workplace violence, and theft. Most everyone has worked around an employee who has been unable to meet seasonable company production standards by not having the skills required for the job, slower than acceptable production rates, or even poor work quality. A problem employee that lacks the skills required for a job can be a serious concern for any organization and should be dealt with my supervisors appropriately.
A supervisor is often quick to assume that an employee lacks the skills for their job so it is very important that the supervisor try to ascertain if the employee really lacks the skills necessary for the satisfactory performance of his or her duties, or if another issue is negatively affecting his or her ability to reform. Often, when a leader assumes that an employee cannot do a job for lack of skill, the real problem is actually centered on sloppiness. And sloppiness is almost always correctable.
The American Management Association (AMA) recommends a first step for supervisors to take if a problem is skill-oriented, and that is to decide whether or not there is something the supervisor or the organization can do to improve the employee’s skills. Can a coworker help bring the employee up to speed? Would a professional seminar be worthwhile? Would studying a book or instructional software help? A supervisor also should evaluate owe important the deficient skill actually is within the performance scope of the particular job.
A supervisor should consider how strong the employee might be in other aspects of job performance. A machine shop supervisor, for instance, may be not be great at giving performance reviews but absolutely terrific at scheduling and maintaining production runs and inventory management. Obviously, his or her strengths far outweigh the weaknesses in effectively carrying out the primary responsibilities of the job. It is often K to have an employee with a serious weakness, as long as you are aware of the problem area and the employee compensates for one skill deficiency with a super skill strength.
However, in some cases a supervisor may feel that an employee employee should not remain in the current position, a super visor should think about moving him or her to another area or level of responsibility within the company. An article published by Harvard University states that there are two advantages to this strategy. First, since a supervisor already knows where the employee’s strengths and weaknesses lie, they have a good idea of what capacity he or she might satisfactorily perform in?much more so than they would for new employee, for instance.
Second, it is demoralizing for other employees to see a coworker fired, especially if that employee was trying hard at the job. Therefore, Absenteeism and tardiness Absenteeism can be a tedious task for managers to face; costing the company or department multiple days of salary in direct and indirect costs associated an employee’s inability to be present for work. There are an unlimited number of reasons that an employee can provide for his or her absenteeism – some under the employees direct discretion, others such as illness or emergency not under the control of the company or the employee.
As companies and managers around the world continue to tackle this ever growing issue many western companies have begun to implement strategies to combat the symptoms of lost productivity caused by absenteeism, however, even within western cultures, these tactics don’t work as planned. Many factors play a role; however, some companies are gaining success from various tactics used to combat absenteeism and tardiness.
In a world full of different motivations and cultural differences, it can be difficult for companies to have a full success; however, with careful planning and cultural understanding companies can begin o battle against this costly crisis in the workplace. In many cases an employee not be meeting company expectations because, they are not clear about their job expectations. Make sure the employee is clear about the job expectations, the production expectations and any other details that would enable the person to perform effectively.
Job descriptions, posted production standards, and data about performance help the employee understand and perform their role. A Performance Management System ensures the employee’s clarity about the goals. The most common problem employees have in any workplace is the ability to reform and meet expectations. Here is your task: 1 . Choose a specific topic from one of the chapters in your textbook. Chapter 12 problem employees: counseling and Discipline 2. Create a title for your paper that frames what you intend to research and present in your paper. For example, you might have an interest in communications.
You might title your paper, ” Meeting the Challenge of Supervisory Communication”. Both the topic and the title sets the stage for your research, the organization, and the presentation of material in your written paper. 3. I will look for a number of common themes in each paper. You must explain the importance of the topic to a practicing supervisor. You must discuss the trends and changes that might be happening in today’s working environments that are affecting the supervisors responsibility in this topical area. You must bring the paper to a conclusion that makes a statement that would leave a lasting impression.
Your paper must be a minimum of five content filled pages (single spaced – excluding a title page, table of contents and bibliography). I also require at least five references, one of which can be your textbook. A slightly modified PAP formatting should be used in repairing your paper. Look at the links on the home page of our Model course site for additional information. If you have questions or would like to get my approval for a paper topic before you start, please do not hesitate to send me an email on your thoughts. Topic approval is not needed, but I’m always happy to help when I can.
Due Date for This Assignment = May 4th, 2012 Problems requiring special action Problems sometimes occur in the workplace Below are a series of information requests and questions to address related to Chapter #12 – Please answer after giving the requests some careful thought. Identify some of the typical employee problems that develop in the work environment. Some of the problems that develop by employees in the workplace may include, Absenteeism and tardiness, Insubordination and Inconsiderateness, Alcohol and Drug abuse, Workplace violence and theft.
Absenteeism is a major issue for employees, and employers are beginning to assess its true impact on every aspect of their business. As they do a better job of tracking absenteeism employers are beginning to realize how much they are actually spending on it, and are often surprised at the actual figures hen they are all added up. One of the factors in the issue of absenteeism that has triggered a lot of press lately is the release of the “2011 ACH Unscheduled Absence Survey”.
The results of the survey, which was conducted June 16, 2003 through July 9, 2003, appear in the October 22, 2011, issue of ACH Human Resources Management Ideas & Trends, a newsletter for HRS professionals. Subsequently many articles have followed presenting the results of this survey and its possible meaning for employers nationwide. Quite often employers are forced to deal with insubordinate and uncooperative employees. When an employee argues or refuses to listen to direction is a major problem for employers as is drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace.
Theft especially in retail atmospheres is an area of constant concern for employers as well. As we have faced the economic downturn of the past three years, has the volume of challenges changed? Has there been any change in the types of challenges employee are encountering? With the economic downturn the instances of insubordination have increased because, employers have had to drastically cut their overhead expenses. Many employees have become upset because they eve seen cuts to their paychecks, fellow co-workers laid off, and many other constraining factors that have caused them to become upset.
In addition, theft has increased because since employees are desperate they are starting to resort to desperate measures. Are there any special measures you believe companies should be taking to address and support employees with personal issues? Believe that employers need to make reasonable accommodations to their employees, and except feed-back from them as well. In addition, feel that an employer should explain to them what problems they are facing especially in a own economy. Has your current or past employer done anything unique in handling employee problems?