Balancing Discipline and Retention: How to Handle a Valuable Employee's Misconduct?

Dear All,

This is Arunima Majumder Datta, working with xxxxx Pvt Ltd as an HR Executive. I need to counsel our yyy Executive as he is not maintaining office discipline properly (late coming, early going, taking half-days randomly, and misbehaving with others). He is very knowledgeable in IT, and we don't want to lose him. Please suggest corrective steps. Looking forward to expert solutions.

As you mentioned, he is a knowledgeable guy. Some of the problems/issues I am going to mention below may be the reason for this kind of behavior:

1. Lack of pay
2. Lack of promotion
3. No recognition
4. Lack of challenging work
5. Life problems

Before going for counseling, you could check the above-mentioned points and others to understand the real issue behind the scenes and solve it. By addressing these issues, the mentioned employee may change his/her behavior. If you find it challenging to identify the root cause, then have an open counseling session to understand what the employee feels and resolve it.

With Regards,
Mr. Thumbs Up

Since you are from HR, the most important factor for you is to maintain discipline and the organization's culture. Therefore, before you counsel, discuss the matter with your seniors, especially the MD, and try to find out his or her views. Inform the MD that with this kind of behavior, the employee in question is undermining the company's culture. People may come and go, but the culture of the company remains. Therefore, there cannot be a trade-off between high-level performance and bad behavior. If the MD wishes to treat this employee with kid gloves, so be it. It's better not to intervene.

However, if the MD agrees to counseling, you may refer to my previous response for guidance. The link is provided below:

https://www.citehr.com/459788-how-in...rformance.html

In the meantime, have you received a formal complaint about the employee's behavior from other employees? If yes, then inform the MD about this simmering discontent. Explain to the MD that while trying to retain this employee, we may lose a few others or demotivate them. Therefore, this will result in incurring either the cost of attrition or the cost of demotivation. While employee retention is of utmost importance, management cannot appease any employee for the sake of retention. If done, it will have dangerous repercussions.

For Kumaran Praveen: You have provided a list of the causes for employees behaving in a weird manner; however, I beg to differ with you. If the employee is from an IT company and has personal or professional issues, he can approach and try to resolve them on his own. Like a factory worker, he needs to rationalize. Do you know that http://wikipedia.org rationalization is a type of defense mechanism?

What the employee is exhibiting is nothing but high-handedness or arrogance stemming from a superiority complex or an idea that he is indispensable. This rebelliousness must be addressed promptly; otherwise, other high-performing employees may follow suit.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Addressing Eccentric Behavior in the Workplace

Some employees who are very good professionally may exhibit eccentric behavior. It is important to arrange counseling for such individuals by a senior and mature person within the organization. Counseling is a serious matter, and not everyone is equipped to counsel effectively. Improper counseling can have worse effects than no counseling at all.

In the ultimate analysis, whether a worker is brilliant or ordinary, they must follow company rules and cannot be permitted to breach the company code of conduct. Therefore, it is crucial to distinguish between eccentricity, arrogance, and overconfidence in one's abilities and perceived indispensability to the organization. No one is truly indispensable. Deal with the individual appropriately and ensure they align with company requirements and standards.

Dear Arunima,

Mr. Nathrao has written, "Counselling is a serious business, and not everyone can counsel properly." This is a very important statement. Seniority is no guarantee of professionalism in counselling. Therefore, I recommend that you talk to the MD and consider hiring a professional counsellor. If you are from Bangalore, please confirm with me. I can vouch for the change in behavior after his counselling.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar