How Do I Replace a Senior Employee Who's Both Valuable and Challenging?

I need your advice. I’m working in a startup company. I want to know how to build a replacement for an old employee. The reason I’m asking about replacing an old employee is that there is one senior employee who consistently has issues with the company's rules, regulations, and policies. Whenever the company issues any policy, he is the first one to point out negative aspects about the company.

Negative Points About Him:

• Never filled timesheet
• Not good in professional communication
• Unable to handle a team (A few months back, he was given the opportunity to handle a team, but he was not able to manage it properly. Due to teamwork issues, his work started suffering, resulting in very poor performance)

Positive Points:

• Very logical and sound
• Able to handle projects alone
• Technically sound
• Favorite employee of the Director (in terms of working)

Now, the problem is that every time he starts saying negative things, he doesn’t want to acknowledge his shortcomings. I feel he is showing attitude or pride in his positive points.

My concern is that I want his replacement. Can you please guide me on how to build or hire a replacement for a strong resource? As it’s a small company, obviously, the company doesn’t have enough funds to hire a replacement for every employee.

Can somebody please guide me on how to handle this situation?

Regards,
Nisha Sharma
[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Here are the concerns:

• Never filled timesheet: If his work is good and he is a favorite of the director, don't bother about his timesheet.

• Not good in professional communication: Arrange some one-on-one coaching for him.

• Not able to handle team: He might be an individual contributor. Some people are good at their work but can't handle teams.

If he says negative things about the company, involve your director. Give the old employee some importance and ask for his views, and then ask team members about it. Handle the situation tactfully and don't look for a replacement, especially when his work is good and the director likes him…

Regards

Thanks for your immediate reply, but the thing is, this company cannot be partial with the employees. To some extent, it's okay, but not in every aspect. His negative words affect other employees' work, and they also start doing the same thing.

And please let me know one thing: in my company, for every rule or harsh email, employees are blaming HR. It seems they have personal grudges against me. I don't like their behavior. It's my work; obviously, I have to do this.

Not Good in Professional Communication

Arrange one-on-one coaching for him. I mentioned that he doesn't want to listen to any negatives or shortcomings about himself. According to him, he is the best, and the company cannot run without him.

Give the old employee some importance and ask for his views, and then ask team members about it. We do that also; in everything, we include them and ask them about their views and feedback, but they don't utter a word.

The reason for looking for his replacement is when you have this type of feeling, you can leave the job anytime. So, as an HR, I must have one replacement.

Kindly correct me if I'm wrong.

Regards,
Nisha Sharma

[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

I understand the situation completely. You can talk to your director and appoint a person who is more qualified but less experienced than the senior person. Make the new employee work with him and learn from him. It won’t be easy, but you have to give it a shot.

If you have heard of SOPs and knowledge management, then you can appoint some interns who will help him make SOPs for the work he does. The director also needs to give him KRAs, including team management, and his appraisal should have weightage for his personal and professional behavior too. This can be highlighted in competencies.

As far as harsh emails are concerned, you need to talk to your boss and ask him to get involved, clear the air with the employees, and help you establish your credibility.

Yes, Atul. My boss is involved in each and every email. He wants me to act as an authority. However, employees do not want this. They see me as a villain; if the Director scolds them for their work, they believe it is because of me.

Question About Hiring Fresh Graduates

I have a question: If we hire fresh graduates, will they be able to match the experience of a 4-year experienced employee? Furthermore, the new hire lacks teamwork skills and struggles to handle tasks efficiently.

Advice on Recruiting from Another Company

Could you please advise me on how to recruit resources from another company?

Regards,
Nisha Sharma

I went through the trail. Being in HR, many people may not like you as they feel that whatever bad things are happening in the company are because of HR. So, don't feel bad; you are hired to perform certain tasks, and it is your duty to perform them.

Building Rapport

Try to build rapport with them; it will not happen overnight. You have to keep your patience. Be friendly but don't be friends with them. It will give you an idea of what's happening.

Communication Strategy

Don't try to write harsh emails; instead, put your point across in firm language.

Decision-Making

Please do not seek employees' views when making any decision because it is not necessary that you always listen to them. If you ask them and do not implement, you are giving them a chance to say that you are not employee-centric HR.

Handling Difficult Employees

Regarding the experienced employee who is acting out, talk to your director about his behavior. I am sure he will take action, as ultimately, it is affecting the company culture. You have already mentioned that his attitude has started rubbing off on others. If the company needs employees, employees also need their jobs.

If you do not want to terminate him, you can send him a warning letter, and if his behavior remains the same, please look for someone else. Initially, it can be difficult, or maybe when he leaves, you may realize that he was not necessary.

So, keep calm and do a good job.

Hope it helps!!!

After seeing the good and bad of the other side (the old employee), let us see what is there on your side since you are the key person who has to deal with the situation, and it is necessary that you equip yourself with the required skills to do it. There is an old saying that "who conquers himself can conquer the world." In other words, what it means is he/she who controls himself can control others. Thus, self-management is the key when it comes to managing difficult people because they play upon your emotions and cause hurt to you. In many cases, we do not deal with our charged emotions and hurt in the manner it should be dealt with and instead allow ourselves to be swept by them and tend to react to them. This may make us go in search of solutions that may not really answer our problems.

How to Deal with One's Emotions and Hurt Properly?

This starts with understanding others' feelings and acceptance that we can neither change nor control certain facts in life.

1) In the instant case, the facts over which we have no control are:

a) The modern workplace is a mixed workplace of the old generation, Generation X, and Generation Y, and thus this kind of generational conflict may be a feature of them. Even if you switch to a new job, there is no guarantee that it does not have an old senior employee to be dealt with again.

b) If you replace him, will there be a guarantee that the new hire will be better than the old one? Sometimes I came across people saying after replacements that "a known devil is better than an unknown angel." What if the new hire, though very good-mannered, is not as technically skilled as the old one? In the instant case, at least you know what he is good at.

Self-Management and Communication

c) Now coming to self-management, I observe certain statements made by you in your reply post to learned member Atul Sharma of Learning Novo, which are:

"In my company, for every rule or every harsh email, employees are blaming HR. It seems they have personal grudges against me. I don't like their behavior. It's my work, obviously, I've to do this."

Yes, I appreciate that you firmly believe that it is your job to frame rules and policies. A latecomer does not like to be told to come on time. You cannot frame a rule seeking his permission to please him. Therefore, as HR, please accept that you cannot or need not please everyone, and at the same time, not all will be scoffing at you. There will be some disciplined individuals who admire your initiatives. Even Buddha faced resistance for his philosophy, but he pursued what he believed. When you are sure that rules are meant for the interests of the organization, you need not pay any attention to others' comments. In fact, it is an indication that your policies are having the desired effect on the employees. Therefore, smile and do not get perturbed by the criticism of some or the few. Accept that bouquets and brickbats are part of the professional life of HR, and every HR professional goes through it. Accept that it is normal.

However, one suggestion here: as HR, keep yourself open to suggestions, though it is not mandatory to follow every suggestion given. You should also be able to sell your HR initiatives to your internal customers, who are the employees and departmental heads. Therefore, listen to them. It has two advantages: i) they feel happy that their voice is heard and that you are not arbitrary, and ii) if the suggestions have merit, you can adopt them in the rules so that they will have wider acceptance and reduce opposition.

Therefore, check your emails and see whether they are really couched in harsh language. Sometimes, in our eagerness to emphasize the importance of compliance with rules/procedures, we may unknowingly use strong language, though in good faith. What an official communication needs is assertive language, not aggressive language, which may be offensive to others. You can check the emails to see whether the communications require any modifications. If so, do not hesitate to modify. This will have a positive effect on the employees and win them over to your side.

Handling the Old Employee

Another statement about the old employee is:

"Not good in professional communication: Arrange some one-on-one coaching for him: I mentioned that he doesn't want to listen to any negative or shortcomings about him. According to him, he is the best, and the company cannot run without him."

Probably a fresher may accept a remark of yours about his professional communication and be willing to accept suggestions for improvement, but not a veteran like the old employee. So you should not repeat it. I do not envisage any prospect of coaching or training in communication bringing any change in his communication, nor will he be cooperative. At the same time, I visualize that it is not easy to replace him since he is the favorite of the director, which such old employees usually are. Secondly, there is a risk of the director getting annoyed if the new hire turns out to be bad from a work point of view. Therefore, you need to take a practical view, which can be:

1) Since he is sound technically and handles projects alone well, you can allot him to such projects after taking your directors into confidence. This will also minimize his interaction with others.

2) Be professional. These are challenges for HR in modern workplaces. Managing generational diversity is a modern HR skill. Therefore, view it as a skill development opportunity, but do not take anything to heart or head since everything happens in the sphere of the office, not in your personal domain.

Finally, I conclude with a wonderful solo conversation that I read somewhere, which bestows on us immense power to deal with hardships in life:

"I asked for strength, but God gave me difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for wisdom, but God gave me problems to solve.

I asked for courage, but God gave me risks to overcome.

Thus, I have not received what I wanted, but I received all I needed."

In all probability, this workplace will be a training ground for you to hone your skills in managing workplace diversity and interpersonal relations.

Hope this helps. All the best.

Regards,
B.Saikumar
In-House HR & IR Advisor

Thank you for your wonderful suggestions to Monica Patadiya and B. Saikumar. I'll try to implement these suggestions. However, I want to know how to build or hire a replacement for a strong resource. It is possible that a strong resource may choose to leave, so the company must have a replacement ready. What strategies should we adopt?

Regards,
Nisha Sharma
[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

I guess what you are asking for is to keep a succession plan in place. The harsh reality in the corporate wonderland is that you may suddenly lose an Alice who is one of the key players, upsetting many a process and project on course. Since these events may happen suddenly or with short notice, you cannot start looking for her/his replacement after she/he leaves the company. Therefore, a succession plan, in my view, shall consist of the following steps:

1. Prepare the plan well in advance.

2. Identify the critical roles/processes first in the organization which shall go on uninterrupted.

3. Identify the traits, skills, behaviors, and knowledge required to perform these critical responsibilities.

4. Identify the employees who have the potential and possess the required competencies and assess them. You can make use of the performance evaluation system in your organization.

5. Ensure the transfer of knowledge and skills from the critical role players to the one intended to succeed them by:
- Placing the prospective successors under the key role players;
- Documenting the way a particular process is handled or a problem solved to keep a record of the procedure and methods to be passed on to the successors;
- Rotating the prospective successors among different roles if this is permissible to allow the company to have the flexibility of utilizing their services at any point of need instead of at one point;
- Handing over the reins of leadership to be held independently by the successors at any opportunity that may come by, like the HOD/key role player proceeding on LTA or on leave or on training, etc.

6. Develop a skill development plan through proper training of the successors to keep them updated. (Train them in attitudes, skills, and competencies, etc.)

A succession plan is not an event-related plan but is a continuous process.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
In-House HR & IR Advisor
Navi Mumbai