They say that one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch. When you have one employee on your team who is infecting the rest of your staff with negativity it can really affect production, morale, and motivation. How do you solve this problem? Here are some things to keep in mind when dealing with a disengaged employee.
Determine the problem.
The first step is to determine what is really causing the problem among your team. Is it just one person or a group of people? Did one specific project or incident start the problem or has it been brewing for a long time. You need to know what you’re fixing before you are able to solve the problem.
Listen to feedback from other employees.
Next, find out how this affecting others in the office. Don’t promote gossip or finger pointing but ask your employees for their honest feedback and how the situation is affecting their work. Ask them how they would handle this problem employee if they were in management. This might give you some good ideas or insider information that can help you fix things.
Take corrective action.
Once you determine who is being affected and what is causing the problem it is time to take action. Your employee might not need discipline to turn their work around. They may need to be challenged more with what they’re doing or moved into a different environment that is more conducive to their particularly work style.
Termination as last resort.
If, after all these steps have been taken, you do not see improvement in the individual’s performance or in the morale of your entire team it make be time to make the biggest change to correct the situation. Firing the disengaged employee should be your last resort and only turn to it if none of the possible solutions have worked.
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