Effective Strategies for Handling Difficult Employees

There is an employee in my organization with the following traits:
- dominating
- aggressive
- not ready to learn
- becomes defensive when feedback is provided
- takes the privileges given for granted
- active participant in office gossip
- just meeting the targets and not working towards overachieving them
- no hunger for growth left within

Please help with some suggestions on how to deal with this employee and ensure that this behavior does not hamper the performance of other employees. Also, help this employee improve upon the above traits.

Sriv

Dear Sriv,

Please inform your superiors about the employee and arrange a formal meeting with the employee, along with your superiors, to address the situation and issue a warning. Additionally, communicate that if the problematic behavior continues, termination may be necessary. Provide the employee with a memo or warning letter, signed by the team leader.

Allow one month for the employee to show improvement after the initial meeting. If there is no change in behavior, do not hesitate to let the employee go.

Remember, there are individuals outside who are eager for job opportunities and ready to contribute effectively. It is essential to maintain a productive and positive work environment.

Thank you.

Best regards,
Miracle
CEO

Hi there,

I feel that there is a need for counseling for this person. You can try to do the following:

- Assess the person and the situation, and find out why you feel the person is being arrogant.
- Generally, these kinds of people are very insecure, and they seek to dominate and control because they are afraid of being dominated and controlled.
- Talk to him directly or ask his supervisor to talk to him to find out the problem behind such behavior.

Also, I would like to know if this person also bullies others, or if anyone in the organization has left because of him or any problems related to him. If you confirm this, I will reply to you afterwards.

Regards,
Archna

Hi there,

I feel that there is a need for counseling for this person. You can try to do the following:

- Assess the person and situation to find out why you feel the person is being arrogant.
- Generally, these kinds of people are very insecure and seek to dominate and control because they are afraid of being dominated and controlled.
- Talk to him directly or ask his supervisor to talk to him to discover the problem behind such behavior.

Also, I would like to know if this person also bullies others. Has anyone in the organization left because of him or experienced any problems related to him? Once you confirm this, I will reply afterward.

Regards,
Archna

Hi,

As per the illustration provided, I infer the following:

1. The employee (let's call him Mr. X) is meeting the targets but is not interested in outperforming them. Mr. X is meeting his targets, which means he is aware of what is expected of him but does not try to exceed expectations. This could be because he is not satisfied with one of the aspects.

First of all, check with him about this irresponsible behavior in private. There might be a strong reason for this, such as dissatisfaction with pay, responsibilities, or the current role he is in.

Secondly, we need to determine when he started displaying this behavior. This behavior may only manifest if Mr. X has been with the organization for a significant amount of time. Therefore, let him understand that he is just like any other employee and could be terminated if he does not adhere to the expected standards.

Warn him and provide him with a month's time to change his behavior; otherwise, management may take action.

Hello Garima Srivastava,

First and foremost, please mention how long this person has been working in your company.

Whether it's worth spending time and effort to counsel him or modify his traits/attitude depends on this aspect. If he joined a few months ago, I don't think it's worth it—but it will be very valuable feedback to correct your hiring practices. How did such a guy get into the company in the first place?

In such a situation, just give him a chance and then fire him—it's simple, like Kaval Vaseer said :-)

Assuming that making attempts to correct his attitude—whatever the reasons may be—is worthwhile to the company, then I agree with Archna and Srividya, except for a slight change in the modus operandi. Conduct the checking/talking/counselling through someone who can handle it INFORMALLY. Otherwise, it's very likely that he will harden his attitude and the whole effort will be wasted. In the end, the declaration will be that he didn't cooperate.

Regards,

TS

Hi Archna,

I agree that there is a need for counseling for this person. You can try the following:

- Assess the person and the situation to understand why you feel the person is being arrogant.
- Generally, people exhibiting such behavior are very insecure. They seek to dominate and control because they fear being dominated and controlled.
- Talk to him directly or ask his supervisor to address the issue and find out the underlying problem.
- Additionally, it would be beneficial to investigate if this person also bullies others or if anyone has left the organization because of him or related problems.

I confirm that people have left my firm in the past due to this person's behavior.

Regards

Hi Srividya,

Yes, this person has been in the system for quite a long time. As I sense it, Mr. X is relaxed, thinking he has a secure position in the firm. Also, his main competitor was on a 2-month leave due to a wedding and is now settled out of my town, working from there for my firm. So, Mr. X sees himself as the undisputed king of the kingdom.

Hi, This person has been in the system for a long time, 3 years to be exact. This is the longest tenure among all employees. Ours isn't a big company but a decently sized firm of around 15 people, and this person's behavior is disturbing everyone.

Hi Miracle,

The senior also knows and is tired of this employee and the attitude. Regarding feedback, the last 2-3 one-on-one sessions of this employee with the boss contained feedback and gentle warnings but no effect seems to be there on this person. Also, this person tends to involve the new joiners and influence them by being very nice and polite, ultimately turning them against the organization. They are too much involved in gossips and also try to involve others.

Dear Friend,

First, assess the level of contribution the person has made to the company's growth. If their contribution is high, invite them to the HR Department for counseling with the HR Head. If the person's contribution is low, issue an oral warning letter, and if there is no improvement, proceed with termination as per the standing orders for misconduct.

Please expedite this process.

Regards,

A. Palpandian
Personnel Officer

Hello Sriv,

If the said employee has been around for 3 years, and the top boss knows about it but still no one is practically able to do anything, I am not sure you have all the facts right.

On what basis is this guy so brazen in his attitude despite the top boss meeting him?

Frankly, I don't think it's just a matter of counseling/rebukes here anymore. This guy is simply feeling indispensable, as you mentioned in reply to Srividya's posting. Try to figure out why and on what grounds - to begin with, assume the reason you mentioned is not the only one. Only when you do this - maybe discreetly if necessary and possible - will you be able to arrive at some viable and practical solution to this problem.

There's a strong possibility that he has some info (either related to the company or the boss at the personal level) that could hurt the company/boss if revealed (in small companies, this is very much possible and true also, because most employees handle multiple tasks). You haven't mentioned if his attitude was this way right from the beginning. If he was okay earlier and his attitude changed in the recent past, then this could be a more sure possibility. Just check it out from this angle.

If you don't find anything from this angle, only then can you greatly conclude that the only reason for his attitude is what you mentioned.

After this point, suggest discussing with your boss to check what all activities he handles and identify the best possible person who can take over (you may not be able to identify a perfect replacement - else your boss may have done it long back) - without this guy's feedback or handover formalities (if he does it well and good, but I don't think he will - going by what you mentioned).

And then just plainly ask him to go - give his paycheck and whatever you need to give as per rules. I suggest don't give him a chance to get into any argument regarding such matters - forget about the notice period, etc. And don't give any scope for him to visit your office again - unless you people want to see him again :-)

Sometimes from the HR point of view, we need to decide if "maximizing the gains" is important or "minimizing the losses" is more important - something that the stock/share market experts are aware of pretty well.

The choice is yours.

All the best.

Regards,

TS

Hi Priya,

I completely agree with Tajsateesh here. If the person has been bullying others for 3 years and the company has not taken any steps to address this behavior, then there is something wrong with the management. No matter how skilled the person is, unless they have connections or inside information, they should not be allowed to disrupt the organization for such a long time.

The only viable option at this point, I believe, is something that you are likely already aware of.

Thanks Sateesh,

Thanks for such a detailed opinion. Things are that I am the HR SPOC here and I have been here since July 2010....not much time. My boss and I are working towards this problem since September 2010. Things were not so difficult initially, but as mentioned earlier, this person has recently come up with such unbearable behavior. Taking the person out of the system is certainly a way...seems to be the last resort.

Hello Sriv,

I guess what I suspected is right, since you say he wasn't like this earlier. Pasting my earlier relevant comments below.

THERE'S A STRONG POSSIBILITY that he has some info [either related to the Company or the Boss at the personal level] that could hurt the Company/Boss if revealed [in small companies, this is very much possible and true also, because most employees handle multiple tasks]. You haven't mentioned if his attitude was this way right from the beginning. If he was okay earlier and his attitude changed in the recent past, then this could be a MORE SURE POSSIBILITY. Just check it out from this angle.

I think the only way to handle this issue now is to take the hard decision—seeing him OFF. But suggest handling it smoothly, since such guys have the habit of bad-mouthing a past Employer—I won't say he will, but it's very likely. So why take a chance? Sort of creating the scope for a problem and then go about resolving it.

One way is to give him jobs that aren't CRITICAL to the Company to begin with—if he sees the writing on the wall, he will quit on his own [I tried this once with success in my Company in the initial stages]. Another way could be to focus on tasks he WILL NOT LIKE. Then give him those tasks to complete—if possible with impossible deadlines.

At the end of the day, the idea is to MAKE HIM QUIT—instead of the Company initiating it. It will save a lot of trouble for you and the Company. And the sooner he is made to quit the better—so work out a deadline for such measures. And if nothing works out, then the only option is to send him out—maybe the Company may have to be prepared to shell out additional money AND learn the lesson for the future.

Rgds,

TS

Hi All,

Thanks for your valuable opinions and viewpoints. I really appreciate the efforts. I hope this would help me deal with this difficult employee.

Take care.

Thanks and Regards,
Sriv