Help an employee improve

We sometimes need to have a serious word with an employee

Have you ever?

Have you ever had to tell someone their behaviour isn’t acceptable? Have you ever had to tell someone they needed to do better?

And have you ever had to tell someone that despite your earlier conversations with them, their behaviour hasn’t improved, and you’re taking it to ‘the next level’?

Perhaps it was …

Perhaps it was your teenager who failed to grasp the concept of keeping their room tidy, or what it meant to help around the house.

Perhaps it was someone in your team who disregarded the sign in the meeting room which said ‘Please put everything away after your meeting and leave it neat and tidy for the next person’.

Or perhaps it was a bit more serious like a staff member who told you they’d completed a bit of work for you but you found out later – when you had to present it at an important meeting – they hadn’t. Or perhaps it was a staff member who, as it was in my case, lied about their whereabouts, what they were doing and their use of a ‘company car’.

Sometimes we need to ‘lay it on the line’

Anyway, finding out there’s a problem – through happenstance, observation or some sort of a performance review – isn’t fun. Nor is having to tell someone their behaviour wasn’t acceptable or their performance wasn’t good enough.

Nor is having to explain to them what we want them to do from now on, how we want them to do it and when we want it done. And nor is telling them what will happen if they don’t do it.

But fun or not, many of us have the job – along with the rest of our jobs– of ensuring standards of behaviour are lived up to, and policies and rules are followed. And this means we sometimes have to step up to the plate, look at someone in the face and tell them ‘it isn’t good enough’.

But it doesn’t always stick  

But getting the change we’re after, doesn’t always happen. And this leaves us feeling frustrated, stressed and at times a bit depressed.

Of course, sometimes it’s because the person doesn’t want to change or their behaviour is so bad, they have to go. But sometimes it’s because we don’t have the right standards, rules and policies in place – which I acknowledge, mightn’t be our doing.

And sometimes, it’s because the strategies we’ve implemented to get the person to change, aren’t all that good. And this is despite us thinking otherwise.

So this is where I come in

I’ve been around for a long time and I know what works and what doesn’t – and why. Let’s have a talk to see if we’re a good fit or not – or just to get something off your chest if you like. And here’s a quick video to explain a bit more about how I can help.

A short video