When a small business has an employee who is difficult to work with, it can drain productivity and create a hostile work environment. Business owners and managers need to demonstrate leadership and deal with difficult employees directly, discussing the behavioral and performance issues and creating a clear plan moving forward to address the issues.

Managers should monitor the progress of difficult employees and if the performance doesn’t improve with feedback and resources, you may need to fire the problem employee for the sake of your business’s performance and the morale of other workers.

Here, then, are nine things that excellent managers do when confronted with a difficult employee – things that keep them from getting sucked into an endless vortex of ineffectiveness and frustration:

Listen.

Often, when an employee is difficult we stop paying attention to what’s actually going on. We’re irritated, it seems hopeless, and we’ve already decided what we think about the employee – so we just turn our attention to other things, out of a combination of avoidance and self-protection.  

Ask for Feedback

You should have a two-way conversation with the challenging employee. Listen to their feedback so you can understand where the problem lies and acknowledge any workplace issues that might be contributing to the negative behavior. Sometimes, just feeling listened to is enough for the employee to feel better and improve their behavior.

Give Clear Direction

Giving tough feedback can be a difficult task for managers, but it’s important that you give clear and specific examples of the negative behavior and explain why it’s inappropriate and how it has to change. Focusing on specific examples can help lower the employee’s defensiveness and offer useful information that can help them improve their workplace performance.

Document Problematic Behavior

Whenever you witness poor performance or troubling behavior, write it down in detail so you have a record of what happened, and be sure to include the date. Proper documentation not only helps you remember and refer to specific events, but it also protects your company in the event that the employee is let go and decides to sue the business for wrongful termination.

Consult the HR Department

Schedule meetings with the human resources team to discuss the situation. They can give advice on how to deal with the poor behavior, help you understand the documentation you need, and provide a course of action for addressing the issue with the employee. HR will understand all the company policies and processes for handling difficult employees and terminating their employment, if necessary.

Create an action plan and document it

Work with the employee to create an action plan to address concerns together. Make sure they know your expectations, the process for measuring progress, and the consequences for failing to meet expectations or make improvements. Identify the specific actions they need to take to help them achieve their goals. Ask them if they need access to any tools or resources to help them make improvements and offer support where you can. Establish appropriate time frames for completing each portion of the action plan. Make sure you document everything in writing and provide the employee with a copy.

Follow up consistently

Give the employee sufficient time to implement corrective action, and monitor their progress during that time. Establish a schedule for check-ins with the employee to discuss their progress and provide additional feedback. If they are making improvements, it is important to recognize those improvements. If they are continuing to struggle, begin a new conversation to find the reasons they are struggling to progress and try to think of new solutions. 

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