As an owner or manager of any type of organization, dealing with people is one of your primary functions. In smaller organizations, the problems are very easy to manage; however, as your organization grows, it is only a matter of time before you will have to deal with issues. Dealing with “people problems” is another vital skill to be mastered, the ability to handle them well, is likely the most important skill you can have as an owner or manager.
Paul’s note: If you have read many of my posts, you will have noticed that I use the term “associate” rather than “employee”. I do this in my consulting practice because the term “associate” reflects more of a partnership between the organization and the person who is working for the organization. I always felt that “employee” implied more of a subservient relationship and was contrary to developing a culture where the owner or manager did not have a monopoly on the good ideas.
WHAT ARE THE FACTS?
Define what your issues are with the associate:
- Something they are doing at work,
- Something they are doing away from work,
- Something they are not doing at work or away from work,
- Something they have said or are saying,
- The job that they are doing,
- They way they appear or dress,
- Their attitude at work,
- The organization can no longer afford to keep the person,
- Or something as basic as they simply do not fit into the vision of the company, as the environment the organization exists in has evolved.
As an organization grows, associates who were, as “good fit” at one point may no longer be making the same level of contribution.
When determining the facts, consider:
- What is the associate’s current role in the company? Issues with a senior person will have a bigger impact on the organization than a junior level associate.
- How long have they been with the company? Depending on the outcome of the alternatives stage, tenure could have a dramatic financial impact on the organization, should termination be one of the options explored.
- How much do they make? In difficult financial times, any organization that is looking for savings will automatically look at salaries as one of the areas of cost cutting.
- How influential are they in the organization? The state of your culture and/or morale is always affected by anything that the organization does. You should not assume that a decision that affects one associate, would not affect others, directly or indirectly.
- Is the associate open to conversation? Whenever there is an issue, preferably before it becomes a big issue, conversation should always be the first step in the process. Having a “carefully prepared for” conversation with an associate that you are having issues with may be enough to solve the issue without having to escalate any further.
- What are the person’s skills, attitudes, and behaviors? Essentially, how valuable is this associate to the organization? Although as a company you should strive to treat everyone the same, the world is not black and white, only hundreds of shades of grey. In a world with very limited time and unlimited demands on that time, choices have to be made; spending time on a multi-faceted person compared to a person of limited ability is a triage reality that we all face.
- How serious are the issues that you have with the associate? As with the above point, how much do the issues you have with the associate really affect you and your organization? Something minor that isn’t likely to get worse may not be worth the time to fix; however, something that could grow into a significant issue should be dealt with while it is still small.
WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES?
- Speak to the associate – Having a “carefully prepared for” conversation with the associate, one where you try to discuss the issue(s) at hand; should always be considered. You need to be as prepared to listen, as you are to talk because the conversation could veer off and degenerate very quickly if either side is overly sensitive or defensive. Having a plan of questions to be asked will help keep you on track. Some deviation is acceptable: just, remember why you are there. Avoiding having this type of conversation will not solve anything.
- Do nothing – This seldom works and usually only makes things worse. Whatever the issues are, especially if you have multiple associates, your team already knows that there are problems. The associate who is creating the issue is bad enough for your associates, but your perceived unwillingness to do anything now makes you look weak and untrustworthy. Morale and culture will suffer. A manager or owner earns their money by dealing with the difficult things that come up; anyone can run things that are running well.
- Terminate the associate – This may be overly harsh, particularly if you jump right to this step. As we will discuss in an upcoming post, termination is not a “one-step solution”. Terminating an associate is a multi-step process that should take months and involves lots of conversation, documentation, and escalation.
- Get the associate to quit. DANGER, DANGER, DANGER, having an agenda where you try to get an associate to leave by making their life difficult will only get you and your organization in trouble.
- Find a new role for the associate – Working with an associate after having a conversation is a good solution because it shows that the partnership is working. They appreciate as much as you do that there are issues and are willing to figure out ways to help the organization grow and contribute in different ways. Sometimes, the associate may decide to leave on their own because of these conversations but unlike the previous point, it is their choice. Should an associate decide to do that, make sure that you are supportive of their decision, offer references, and time off for interviews if requested. As with any of these alternatives make sure you document everything.
MAKE A DECISION
- There are costs to everything and these costs need to be carefully considered for each of the alternatives. Examine how this associate fits into your short, medium, and long-term goals for your organization. Examine the impacts on the organization in the worst case scenario
- It is quite likely that whatever you decide to do will have more than one-step. My suggestion would be to start with a conversation and find out what your associate is thinking. If they are acting out of character, it is quite possible something outside of work is bothering them. Having associates who trust you and who are willing talk to you is a very important component of running a successful organization. Making the time for someone is a huge factor of building trust and having your associates believe that you are interested in them. This doesn’t not happen overnight, you must be genuine and you must consistently do this.
- Understand that the results of your decision may not be popular, but as an owner or manager, you must do what is best for the organization regardless of how difficult it is to do personally.
- Remember that you control the timing to a certain extent. You can certainly choose to advance or delay whatever decision you make while understanding that there will be costs and benefits depending on what you decide to do.
- Given the facts and alternatives that you have, make the best decision you can. YOU WILL MAKE MISTAKES and usually it is impossible to go backwards. It is like downhill skiing, each time you turn one way or the other, opportunities present themselves and others are lost to you. That’s just how it is, try your best and then keep moving forward. Keep in mind another lesson taught to me by Doug Robbins: Once a decision has been made, you are allowed to self-correct. Always ask yourself:
- What did I do right?
- What did I do wrong?
- And then What would I do differently next time?
No one expects you to be perfect, you do the best you can with the facts that you have at the moment.
Good luck,
Paul.