Here are three common people-management problems and their solutions. The first two deal with managing staff; the third deals with managing clients.
#1: Lousy performance
People problem #1. How to address poor performance in such a way that the outcome is improvement, not firing.
The obvious answer is to meet with the staffer, explain the problem, and tell how to correct it. But not so obvious is the fact that how the administrator goes about doing that will significantly affect the response.
Start the meeting out on the right foot by giving consideration to the staffer’s situation. Don’t scare that person by scheduling the meeting for later. Approach the staffer and ask to meet right then: We need to talk. Is this a good time for you?
Getting hit first thing in the morning with “come see me in my office at 3 p.m. to discuss your performance” is enough to ruin anybody’s day. Productivity is shot, because that staffer is now too worried about the meeting to do much work.
What’s more, as the hours pass, the staffer gets defensive and starts drumming up arguments to justify the performance.
If the office is busy and a later time has to be set, don’t let that person think the worst.
Show some mercy and in a positive way tell what the meeting is going to cover, perhaps I’d like for us to meet at 3 p.m. to talk about some things we need to work on changing. Now the staffer at least doesn’t have to dread getting fired.
Tone of voice is important as well. Sound like a coach, which means sounding positive. No matter how bad the performance has been, don’t let a tone of criticism or anger creep in. The staffer will hear it and will go into the meeting ready to fight, not improve the performance.
Now for that meeting
Start the meeting with the goal in mind. And that goal is not to berate the employee; it’s to change poor performance to good performance. Go in angry or start off with a litany of criticisms, and any chance of encouraging improvement will be lost. The best success comes from following the standard coaching agenda.
Present the facts: Staffer A, what I’ve been hearing is that your telephone manner with clients is not up to the level of client service we expect.
Next, present the evidence: In fact, several clients have complained about it. On May 1, Client A said that . . .
Or tell what the administrator has seen: When I heard you on the phone, I had a feeling that the client would have sensed antagonism.
Then ask if Staffer A needs help: Is there any training we can provide to help you improve your phone etiquette? Or go the other way around and suggest training.
From there, set some improvement goals: We need to work through this. I want you to be a valuable employee in this office, so I’d like to talk with you about how I can help you do a better job. Give examples of the changes that are needed. It may be the staffer needs to show more enthusiasm on the phone or check the accuracy of certain work or get training in some skill. But whatever it is, be specific and write it down. People need to know what they need to change.
At the same time, build that person up: I have confidence that you can improve.
End the meeting by setting a timeframe for making the improvement and scheduling a follow-up meeting at the end of that time: I’d like to see your phone etiquette improve by the end of this week. So let’s sit down together again next Monday to discuss your progress.
Schedule the follow-up sooner rather than later. Doing so shows the importance of making the improvement. Along with that, it lets the administrator give immediate reinforcement on whatever good efforts the staffer makes, and that’s essential to helping someone make a positive change. Everybody appreciates immediate recognition.
What if there is no improvement? Sadly, the only option is a formal corrective review.
That’s when the administrator lays the cards on the table: This is what I need you to do. I have put you on a trial period. If you don’t change, you will no longer be employed here.
#2. No raises this year
People problem #2. How to tell staff that raises will be slim to none.
It’s not easy to make the announcement that raises will be minimal or even nonexistent, particularly when staff have met performance expectations and have earned the extra pay.
Start out with the truth: We simply don’t have the money to give you the same raises you got last year.
Then hold out some hope for the future. Give them an opportunity to help change the gloomy picture. Ask Do you have any suggestions on how we can decrease our overhead and improve our profitability? That shifts the emotional attention from fear to inspiration, because staff have just been given ownership in the firm’s success.
And they may well have good ideas for improving profitability. After all, they are the ones who see firsthand where the inefficiencies and over-expenses are.
Employees need to feel they belong to a closely knit team, and working together to solve a problem creates a sense of belonging.
Some instant gratification
Whew! The announcement is made, the meeting is over, and the administrator has survived.
But the hurdle doesn’t end there. If there’s no financial reward, will staff fall down on the job?
Not necessarily. Praise can work just as well as money in keeping up enthusiasm and good performance.
The key is to praise specific things as opposed to overall performance. That’s what makes it sincere, and that’s what makes it effective.
A general compliment of “good job!” doesn’t do the trick, because it’s meaningless and could even be misconstrued as sarcasm.
Tell what that good job was: Good job on that report! I like the way you wrote it. You were accurate and detail oriented. For example, in the second paragraph…
That’s a sincere compliment, because it shows that the administrator evaluated what the staffer did and has found specific good things about it.
Moreover, the staffer knows exactly what the administrator sees as good work and so can repeat that type of work in the future.
Even so, don’t neglect the material side of praise altogether. Small gifts of appreciation go a long way to solidify the verbal praise.
Try asking staff what types of rewards they would enjoy. The answers may be surprising.
They may want everybody to share in a pizza party or they may think something as small as fine candy bar is a good reward for a small success.
#3. The difficult client
People problem #3. How to handle clients who are rude or abusive to staff.
The customer may always be right, but that doesn’t give anybody the right to be abusive.
Employees should never have to take abuse from clients.
Tell staff how best to handle specific situations. For example, they should know ahead of time that if a client gets rude on the telephone, the correct response is something akin to I’m sorry, I can’t speak with you right now. Our administrator (or whoever) will call you back. They should also know what to do from there, perhaps hang up before the angry caller can say anything more.
By the time the call back is made, the client’s tone of voice will have changed.
At the call back, begin the conversation by addressing the point of the client’s anger and expressing regret—not for any mistake the office has made but for the fact that the situation has upset the client.
Then make it clear that the firm respects its staff and won’t tolerate mistreatment: I know you treat me with professional respect. Well, I consider my staff to be an extension of myself, and you must treat them the same way you treat me or this relationship isn’t going to work out.
When the office respects its staff, the clients will do the same.
| Editor’s picks: | ||
 8 quick ways to improve communication with your staff |
 To make a point, use the body language that support your words |
‘Favorites’ list source of popular employee awards |