How to deal with difficult staff

A member of your team could be doing (or not doing) various things to make them ‘difficult’ including:

• Not acting professionally
• Being rude, having a bad attitude or gossiping
• Coming in late often
• Not completing their work by set deadlines
• Not taking direction or constantly challenging authority

If this is the case with any of your team members then it needs addressing appropriately.

First and foremost, it’s really important that you don’t take the situation personally and make sure you leave it at work. Easier said than done but taking on the situation in a professional and process-driven manner will help this.

Initially, ask yourself if this is a one-off or if there’s a clear reason why it’s happening. Sometimes behaviour can seem unreasonable when it’s someone else doing it and we don’t know why, even though we might well act the same in a similar situation. Give them the benefit of the doubt and remember that everyone is different. Ask for a second opinion from someone (another manager or HR person) but don’t gossip.

If you can’t see it from their perspective or it’s a recurring issue then you will need to speak to the employee. Make sure you are in the right frame of mind before you begin and be willing to really listen.

Following a process will help you deal with the circumstances objectively and logically, not emotionally. Consult your company’s policies and procedures if they have them or ask your HR department or advisors for support.

The process you should follow is likely to involve:

• Discussing the issues with the member of staff and listening to their perspective
• Giving clear feedback and telling them what you expect and how they can bridge the gap
• Giving them ownership of resolving the problem and asking them to create an action plan
• Helping them to remove any barriers
• Monitoring their progress and following up with them

When you begin the process make sure you go through with it consistently so it’s fair and everyone involved knows what to expect. Document all of the conversations. If nothing has improved after this procedure has been followed then the next steps would be disciplinary action and ultimately firing them. 

Patty McCord, the former chief talent officer at Netflix and the author of ‘Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility’ said in the Harvard Business Review,

“Your goal is to build a great team that does great work and to do that you need productive, engaged employees.”

Patty McCord, former chief talent officer at Netflix and the author of ‘Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility

Even the best managers will never be able to completely eliminate all issues with employees but cultivating a great team culture can help ensure a happy workforce and prevent issues from occurring in the first place. Cultivate a great culture by:

• Putting time and effort into the recruitment process
• Having an open-door policy
• Conducting regular one-to-ones with your team
• Investing in and prioritising training
• Working in a healthy and flexible environment

The best way to deal with difficult staff is to do just that and deal with it. Don’t ignore the issue and hope it will go away. It’s frustrating to have time taken away from doing your own activities but as a manager, supporting, developing and supervising your staff should take up a good percentage of your time in order for the whole team to thrive.