Dealing With Bad Employees

Bad employees are a fact of life. No matter how hardimmediately. Depending on your company policies, they
a business owner tries to screen new hires, dealingmay be able to return to work after seeking help.
with bad employees will always be an issue. PerhapsPolicies for dealing with bad employees in this area
the new employee is not happy with their work theydiffer from business to business. Many small
or simply does not fit into the organization. Forbusinesses are not in a position to hold a job open for
whatever reason, a bad employee is not producing the30 days while an employee gets help.
quantity or quality of work they must to remain a partWhen Counseling Doesn't Resolve The Problems With
of the organization.Bad Employees
Counseling Bad EmployeesIf counseling does not reveal a valid reason for poor
Once you identify a problem employee, your first stepperformance or reveals a problem that cannot be
is to counsel the bad employee. Bring the person intoresolved, you must issue a documented warning and
your office for a one-on-one discussion of their recentplace in the employee's Human Resources folder. This
work and the problems with that work. Ask them whyclearly tells the employee that if their performance
their work has fallen into a level that is unacceptable.does not significantly improve within 30 days, they will
Perhaps the poor work is a result of employee havingface termination.
no training to perform certain tasks. Each companyYou should review the employee's improvement or
and organization has different processes andlack of improvement weekly. And you must document
techniques for tasks. Untrained employees will fail towhether the bad employee is making any effort to
produce acceptable results.improve the quality and quantity of their work.
If this is the situation, counsel the employee and offerIt is not uncommon that a person has a great resume
them training. Then review their progress often toand verifiable references but their skills do not fit the
decide if they have improved to acceptable levels ofwork you ask them to perform. In some organizations,
performance.lateral movement of employees can be a solution to
If the problem is due to personal family difficulties, youturn a bad employee into a productive, good employee.
might advise the employee to seek outside counselingThis may not be a solution in your particular
and give them the opportunity to improve their work.organization, however.
The poor performance could be the results of a drugIf counseling and warnings fail, the business owner or
or alcohol addiction. If this is the case, direct them toHuman Resources director must fire the bad
seek help and to enter a rehabilitation programemployee and hire a better person for the job.