dave.zatz.us

Turn problem employees into assets

This journal is not available online or electronically. The citation is Zatz, K., & Zatz, D. (1999, March). Turn problem employees into assets. Administrator, 18(3).

Problem employees have always been a major issue for administrators. How do you deal with someone who is not pulling their weight?

Administrators who fire too often can damage their reputation and injure the trust of their employees and colleagues. Firing is not something to be taken lightly; its effects on the person involved can be severe, and the institution must deal with unemployment compensation, possible litigation, and the costs of hiring a replacement.  Simply letting poor performance slide is even worse: it hurts morale, sets a bad example, and may lead to overtime or even an extra position to take up the slack. In addition, if you let poor performance slide, when you do choose to fire the employee you may have lost your legal grounds and be faced with a tough lawsuit.

We are not saying that employees should never be fired: indeed, a serious ethical or other issue may merit immediate termination. However, in most cases, the issue is more one of “bad attitude” or not doing the job properly.

Over the years, we have developed a series of steps on dealing with problem employees. All should be done privately with the employee; “marking” someone as a problem is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

1. Communication. We cannot emphasize the importance of this step enough. Some staffers were completely unaware of their behavior or its consequences. Many people are working hard, but at the wrong job or tasks. Some have things to say, but cannot find the words to tell us why they can’t perform up to par. Some useful actions to take are:

• Clarifying job responsibilities and goals. This is probably the most common issue in academic and nonprofit environments: people are generally dedicated and motivated, but may not share the same goals or views of what their job is.  The first step might be asking people about what they believe their job goals, responsibilities, and authority to be. Your own goals and vision may not be clear to all employees.  Job descriptions may also need to be updated.
  
  One common problem is our tendency to nod and agree when we do not understand the other person, or when we disagree but are afraid to say so; we have to probe to get beyond that.
• Stopping and carefully listening to employees. Sometimes people try to tell us important information, but we do not hear it because our perspective or the language we use is so different. Some performance issues turn out to be caused by misperceptions or “system” problems that can be easily and quickly addressed.

2. Evaluate competencies. In short, try to find out where the person is not skilled or knowledgeable enough to do their job properly. This may require a great deal of tact and working with the person, though in some cases it will be obvious. Rather than dismissing an employee, work with them to build their competencies. If they do not deal well with students or co-workers, there are many methods to improve their behavior, including modelling, training, and (the most potent) video-taped or other role-playing sessions. These should include other co-workers, because most people can benefit from it; to avoid singling out a single person; to build teamwork; and because it can be most effective when others tell what they think in a safe atmosphere. We have seen people with sour attitudes because they were not up to their jobs — nobody likes to do a job poorly — and we have also seen people known to be “bad with students” suddenly realize how they were perceived and change their behavior on the job, thanks to a few minutes of role playing and candid discussion with colleagues.
 
3. Change the job. “If the person won’t come to the job, the job must come to the person.” Sometimes, the person simply doesn’t fit the job. If you have already gone through step #2, you know where the person’s skills and experience are; find out their interests as well, and what they really want to be doing with their job and their life. Chances are you can juggle their job and others’ (possibly in consultation with union representatives) so they can do what they are best at.
We have been quite surprised by the way people on the verge of being fired have suddenly become outstanding performers, once their job was retailored to their strengths. This can also instantly change “attitude problems.”

4. Termination. Sometimes, there is just nothing you can do to turn a person around. When you start the process of working with a poor performer, also start a paper trail to document what you are doing, as well as any justification for termination. A long paper trail can be needed to avoid (or to win) litigation. After termination or resignation, be cautious if you are asked for references. Employers have sued those who gave glowing recommendations to people who were forced to quit, and employees have sued those who gave “spiked” recommendations. If you can’t say anything good, say nothing at all.

Fortunately, if you follow this process, working closely and honestly with the employee, building their trust and trying to work with them toward common goals, you will find yourself with far fewer cases where you must think about writing recommendation letters for former employees.

Katherine Zatz and David Zatz work with Toolpack Consulting. Katherine is a retired university president, and both are also part-time faculty.