"Protected" employee. A performance problem
Dear e-COACH,
I have read your column in the “Business Bulletin”. I was handed it by my own Senior Manager about a staff member working under my direction. As it happens at other firms, there is a “protected employee” here. This employee is arrogant, ignorant, rude and has an attacking verbal demeanor toward others. The employee also feels protected because of a personal friendship with my Manager and I’m “fed up”.
Dear Fed up,
This is a very interesting problem that occurs in many organizations but is rarely discussed. Sometimes in companies, there are family members or friends of senior management that must be managed with more “care”. Based on the information you have provided, some of my observations are:
- The employee’s behavior is a performance problem
- You believe your hands are tied when it comes to correcting the behavior
- The employee feels the need to be “protected” by your senior manager
- Your boss (who gave you this column) is not happy with the employee’s behavior either
While this employee may indeed be protected from termination, you are still entitled and obligated to manage. As the manager, you are responsible for training, coaching, disciplining, guiding, managing deportment and employee performance. This can be challenging, especially given the circumstances.
As a first step, speak with your senior manager, presenting your observations about the employee carefully. Reach an agreement on which aspects of the employee’s behavior is adversely affecting what parts of the business (morale, customer service, sales, productivity, etc.)
Discuss the consequences of things continuing the way they are (e.g. lost customers, deadlines not met, employees leaving).
Identify the specific behavior changes that are required by the employee on proper communication skills, conducting progressive disciplinary action, professional coaching, setting goals, etc.
Secure agreement with your manager on the approach you will use and what to do if the employee still does not improve. Be patient. Agreement with your manager may take more than one meeting, however, your manager’s support is critical.
Next you must deal with the employee. Most likely, one of your strategies will be to open up a dialogue again. Use an approach different from what you’ve done before – try being totally factual or try taking a coaching/helping approach. Being different gets noticed and gets different results.
Make no reference to the relationship with your boss and focus the discussion on the performance as it relates to the job that needs to be done. Set some goals for improvement and review progress at agreed upon intervals. Document all discussions and keep your boss updated.
There is at least one challenging employee on most teams -- but we almost always learn from them how to be better managers. Good luck and keep me posted on your results.
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