'Working Wounded': Fixing Employee Failure

D E A R   W O U N D E D: I've got an employee who has a great deal of potential, but he isn't getting the job done. Any advice on how to turn this around?

A N S W E R: As I was thinking about your question, I thought of John Gladney. He was arrested in Columbus, Ohio, after robbing a bank and jamming the money bag inside his pants. He was easy to spot because of his pronounced limp. How did the police know he'd be limping? Well, if an exploding dye pack had gone off in your pants, you'd be limping too.

Unfortunately, Mr. Gladney isn't the only one limping through his workday; many of us work with people who are clearly wounded by their jobs. It's great that you are aware of and concerned about the problem. And what's even better, there are things you can do to improve an employee's performance. I've listed a few possibilities below. For more, check out Moiali, et. al. "Managing for Excellence" (DK, 2001).

Are they lacking the skills? Many of us are doing jobs that are more complex than they used to be. Yet, many companies don't recognize this and often don't put effort and money into training to ensure that people have the necessary skills. Talk to the members of your team and arrange for training or tutoring to help them gain the required expertise.

Related

How should a failing employee be handled?

Is procrastination the problem? It's important to give people the opportunity to work through procrastination. As someone wrote to me in an e-mail recently, you eat a whale one bite at a time. Working with the person to break the job down into manageable steps can often turn inactivity into productivity. One caution: there is a difference between making help available and doing the job for them.

Are they frequently absent? Absenteeism may be caused by the person not feeling part of the group or it may be caused by external factors that you aren't fully aware of. Taking the time to find out what is causing the person to miss work just might turn a problem employee into a productive one.

Do they have personal problems? Life happens. With a 1-year-old daughter, I understand how life sometimes gets in the way of finishing your work. If the person has a good track record of doing the job you might want to see if something at home is distracting them. Offer a referral for professional help and/or temporarily reassign their duties. You also might see an increase in loyalty from other employees when they see you stand up for someone going through a difficult time.

Are they demotivated? Most managers believe that a paycheck should be motivation enough. But there are times when something more is needed. The important thing is for you to know what motivates each person and for you to give them a spark when they need it.

Follow tips and your people won't be limping along at work, and hopefully their pants won't be on fire either.

We'd like to hear your strategy for saving an employee who is failing at work. I'll give an autographed copy of "Working Wounded: Advice that adds insight to injury" (Warner, 2000) to the best submission. Send your entry, name & address via: http://workingwounded.com or via e-mail: bob@workingwounded.com. Entries must be received by Wednesday (November 17th).

Online Ballot and Contest

Here are the results from a recent workingwounded.com/ABCNEWS.com online ballot:

Which of the leadership practices below is the most dangerous to effective leadership?

  Following the Golden Rule, 2.3 percent

  Being too efficient, 3.4 percent

  Avoiding politics, 5.4 percent

  Perfectionism, 16.6 percent

  Trying to control everything, 72 percent

Winning Strategy

Our winning strategy comes from G.D. in Cyberspace:

"It always amazes me how many managers forget simple things like saying 'please' and 'thank you'. Treat your staff politely. I never use the word 'but' when giving direction, I use the word 'however,' as in the following example. 'This looks good … but …' try using, 'this looks good … however, we could touch it up here …etc.' Ask staff for their opinions and listen to them. Never ask staff to do something you are not capable of doing yourself or know how to do yourself. Admit when you do not know something or especially if you are wrong. Last but not least, show care and interest in their lives -- outside of work. Ask about their families etc. and mean it."

List of the Week

Alone, 16 percent

Battle-torn, 17 percent

Overwhelmed, 24 percent

Directionless, 41 percent

Source: Fast Company

Bob Rosner is a best-selling author, speaker and internationally syndicated columnist. His newest bestseller, "GRAY MATTERS: The Workplace Survival Guide" (Wiley, 2004), is a business comic book that trades cynicism for solutions. Ask Bob a question: bob@workingwounded.com or http://graymattersbook.com

ABCNEWS.com publishes a new Working Wounded column every Friday.