At one point or another in a manager’s career, there will always be employees who are difficult to manage. It is a manager’s job to properly and professionally manage these people and figure out whatever is necessary to create a positive office culture. Below are some tips on how to deal with difficult employees.

  1. Develop a plan. Device good planning strategy to deal with difficult employees. It involves gathering all the information you need and planning the perfect time of the confrontations and the place of the meeting or if it is necessary to have human resources or key people present, etc. Gather all the information meticulously before taking action.
  2. Listen. When meeting with a difficult employee, maintain a positive and calm composure, actively listen and be impartial. Avoid being critical. Have a clear understanding of what may be causing such behavior. It may also result in employees starting to act differently once they are given a chance to be heard, and indeed you may spot problems within the system that need to be addressed. Don’t assume that inappropriate behavior is due to negative intent. It may be that the person has some personal problems or perhaps because of confusion, fear, motivation problems, etc.
  3. Give concise behavioral feedback. It is common practice to set up monthly, quarterly or yearly meetings to receive feedback on an employee’s performance and general conduct. This meeting is the best time to address behavior issues. While giving negative feedback can be difficult and uncomfortable, good managers need to know how to get their message across clearly and advise their employees specifically where they need to improve or change.
  4. Deal with the behavior and not the person. Anger often gets the best of us when we act unprofessionally, but a good manager must be able to control emotions, focus on the problem and not attack the person.
  5. Give warning and establish consequences. The employee must know that there will be repercussions if no attempt is made to improve or change. Give verbal and written warnings. Work with Human Resources regarding company policy regarding ongoing employee misconduct.
  6. Document. It is prudent to have documentation of these misconduct by employees. At worst, you have something to look back on if the issues aren’t resolved and/or irreconcilable and you have to fire an employee. On the other hand, if the issues smooth out, you can always put your documentation aside.
  7. Be brave. If the situation reaches the point where firing the employee is unavoidable, don’t let someone else do it. Do it properly and professionally.

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