How do you handle behavioural issues in a startup company?

How do you handle behavioral issues in a startup company? Is it really wise to terminate an employee based on behavior?

I would recommend addressing behavioral issues in a startup company through a structured approach that includes clear communication, setting expectations, and providing support and guidance to employees. It is important to first understand the root cause of the behavioral issues and then work with the employee to address them through coaching, training, or counseling. Terminating an employee should be considered as a last resort, after all other options have been exhausted and the behavior continues to have a negative impact on the company and its culture.

Dear Ram Rao,

What exactly are the behavioral issues? Can you please explain further with examples? Why have things come to such a pass where you need to terminate an employee? Partly, it is a failure of recruitment and leadership as well. While conducting the interview, what efforts were made to understand the personality of the candidate? By the way, are the clashes happening because of a mismatch of personality or lack of interpersonal skills?

It is the leadership that is responsible for fostering a culture of teamwork and collaboration. What efforts has leadership made to foster this culture?

There are three types of conflict: process conflict, task conflict, and relationship conflict. Was it initially a process or task conflict that later escalated to relationship conflict? Have you conducted an investigation on this matter?

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

What exactly is the behavioral issue? Being a startup, culture would not have been deeply embedded. Before termination, there is a need to follow natural justice, as it is paramount.

Yes, as the learned members said, you need to spell out the behavioral issues in specific terms. It is a very vague description of the issue, making it difficult for members to rely.

B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Relations Consultant
Navi Mumbai

Hello, Dinesh,

I can come up with one example. Not adhering to company policies such as not providing prior information about leaves, arriving late, seeking permissions, etc.

Hi Dinesh,

Thank you for responding to my question. The behavior issue that I am facing with the employee is that he is late to the office every day and takes prolonged breaks. Considering he has been with us for about a month now, we have issued him two verbal warnings and one written warning. However, I see no improvement in his behavior.

I have addressed this concern with the employee on multiple occasions, including one-on-one discussions, casual meetings, and verbal warnings. Each time, he assures that he will be punctual.

As a startup company, every resource is valuable to us. While building our core team, we do not want such behavior to negatively affect other employees. My concern is that I do not want to lose this employee solely because of this behavioral issue. At the same time, I do not want this behavior to influence the rest of my team.

What would you suggest?

Regards,
Ram Rao

Dear Ram Rao,

If the employee's tenure with your company is for a month, then why are you so much worried about his termination? In spite of receiving verbal and written warnings, if he remains incorrigible, then it could be a liability in the future. It is better if you check him out sooner. You may make 31st March his last working day and start looking for the replacement.

Behavioral issue or otherwise, this is a recruitment problem. Why was the candidate's attitude not identified in the interview? Who conducted the interview, and what questions were asked? Please revisit the recruitment session that has taken place as the situation merits an evaluation of the recruitment practice. Lastly, the lesson from this sour episode is that you need to improve your recruitment practice.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

I am in complete agreement with Mr. Dinesh. It is the right solution. Otherwise, he or she will be a significant problem for the company. I also suggest reviewing the interview process. At a minimum, you should evaluate an employee based on the following criteria:

1. Adaptability
2. Management Skills
3. Interpersonal Skills
4. Leadership abilities in the position along with other competencies.

Hi all,

We are facing the same kind of problems in my company. We have developed our recruitment process to be strong and efficient, allowing us to make decisions in a shorter time. Additionally, we ensure clear expectations are set during the interview and later stages of onboarding. Despite these efforts, we are still encountering issues, and it appears that some of the strong pillars in the organization are influencing this situation. What actions can be taken to address this?

Thank you.

Dear Ram Rao,

Coming late to the office every day and taking prolonged breaks could be indicative of burnout in the employee or even a stressed employee who starts to believe that if he cannot get out of the situation, he should start skirting it. Give the employee an opportunity to explain why he is regularly late and encourage him to develop a solution that works for both the employee and the employer, with the end result being that the employee arrives to work on time. Approaching the problem in this manner will help to ensure that the employee comes up with a solution that he buys into, and can help resolve the issue without the need for further disciplinary action.

I run a training and counseling company, and a large part of our programs focus on enhancing employee happiness quotient. Going by our experience, these are potent signs of stress in the employee. Having a counseling approach will help the employee uncover the reason he is late, and providing him support and guidance can make a big difference. As a start-up, while business is a priority, an employee's wellness should not be allowed to take a back seat. Demonstrating a caring attitude may help improve employee engagement and boost your business in turn.

Do let us know if you need any help in this regard.

Thanks,
Best Regards,
Riti Sinha
Founder, Pharos Hub

Dear Ram Rao,

I totally agree with Dinesh. As an organization, we need professionals who can contribute to the organization's goals as well as set an example for others. If we do not take any action, the later stage will be very troublesome for you, as he/she will take things for granted and this trend will slowly be followed by others.

Regards,
Sheeba Alex
HR Manager
Suba Group of Hotels

How many employees are there? What is the product? What is this person's role? Has he been headhunted from a competitor? And a few more facts need to be examined before giving any advice.

Is he reporting to you? Reporting to someone else? Reporting to the CEO? Examine all carefully before taking this very seriously.

Thanks,
T. Sivasankaran

Hi,

The action we are taking on the employee should be based on the company structure. If the company is at a large scale, then we can follow a hire and fire policy. If it is a small-scale sector or a new startup, then we should proceed a little more slowly.

If the employee is very good at his work and a hard worker, then we should consider making alterations to his working time; in case lateness is the only concern.

If you try to work on the employee's problem, I am sure he will stay with the company for a long time with loyalty and hard work, which are required for any new startup. Every time termination is not the only way to handle employee issues!

Thank you.

Regards,
Nilesh Kadam
Admin/HR

Hi, this is my first post. Respected seniors, please correct me if there are any mistakes. I think to address tardiness, you should establish a strong policy for your startup company. If your policies are robust, you can introduce them to candidates at the time of joining so they are aware of the expectations. This approach will help you maintain discipline within your organization.

Having hired, and wanting to retain him for his technical skills, the solution lies in finding the reasons for such chronic late reporting from him in one-on-one sessions. Termination through legal remedies is the last option. Making him understand the effects of late reporting on costs and the business, besides setting a tone of indiscipline for the co-staff in the organization.

To retain and attract talent, organizational policies also need to be user-friendly and offer a certain amount of flexibility, particularly based on various factors including commuting.

Anil Kumar DGM - HR & Admn Soma

Dear Ram Rao,

All the learned members who have responded so far are correct and are point-driven. This problem is to be viewed in two ways. It may be an intentional arrogance from the employee. We can treat it as a behavioral trait, and if so, it could have been judged during the interview. If not, another reason could be that the employee is not interested in working with you and would like to find ways to move out as quickly as possible. If the second one is the answer, please revisit your organization culture from his perspective. Many times we take things for granted. Initially, one tone rises to tell us that what we are doing is not correct, then the rest will join. Who knows, there may be some unsatisfied souls working with you not able to find a way to express themselves or adjust having not been able to quit. The only catch in the entire episode is the peculiar behavior of the individual. Either this person must have developed a thick skin or is acting so. I strongly feel that this is one of the opportunities for your budding organization to set your traits even more robust.

Irrespective of his retention or termination, it is essential to identify the reason behind the employee's behavior, despite the repeated warnings and job threats.

Thank you, Bharat Rachakonda, Trainer, and Counselor.

Dear Friends,

From the above observations and comments, I would also like to add that firstly, the hiring has gone wrong. Maybe HR focused too much on the technical aspects, knowledge, and bargaining on the salary of the potential candidate and overlooked the behavioral part, which I feel is an important aspect for the right fitment in any team to cohesively work together. Always remember - Start with good people, lay out the rules clearly, communicate with them regularly, motivate them, and reward them adequately. And if you are doing all these things, you can't miss!

I am sure the outburst or negative reactions from the new joinee are because he is not getting the right role/salary that was promised to him at the time of joining and has not been well inducted or taken care of during this last one-month period. A new joinee should always be welcomed warmly by the others and made to feel accepted by them. Of course, he has to equally reciprocate to the team in the same manner. I suggest the HR should sit with the employee and have a long chat with him to discuss and understand the issues and root cause of this behavior.

Regards,
Wilma

Just a suggestion, after talking/counseling to the respective employee, if things still remain unchanged, you can probably revise your policies as per requirement. Being a start-up, you have an advantage of revising the policies (provided it should not be a habit). You can go for policies like 3 late marks will result in half a day's loss of salary. This might avoid other employees' behavior.

Regards, Amar Joshi