Hi Guys,

Boy is this getting used a lot by me very quickly!!

Just wondering how oher small businesses deal with employee problems. Any advice would be appreciated.

At some point you have to draw the line. I used to be that way - caring way too much for my employees and bending over backwards. I still do that a lot for my customers - but people take you for granted.

Does he work out of his home or your office?

fire him. there are lots of good people looking for work.

That kind of attitude hinders growth, innovation, loyalty, etc.

if you need to keep him, how about trying to not talk about the personal stuff and try and keep him focussed on work....why can he spend work time complaining to you? maybe cut the bad subjects off ,as in we need to work on this now....get off of the feeling subject and onto the work subject...hopefully he still want s to work...

....captain, do you really think you can change an employee? i struggle with this a lot....right now i have one who is treating my customers like an angel...and another who wont even get out of their way in an aisle....
i cant seem to change any behavior for very long....and how long should i try? ..some kinds could demoralize the whole place...
...
.i kind of veer towards just getting rid of the bad apples...and if a new person cant find something to excell at i start cutting hours.....

Ann, I DO in fact think that, yes. IME, most people do not respond well to the iron fist management style, nor do they respond well to "hey, there's plenty of others that want your job". It is my opinion Most people that get treated like that will give you their bare minimum. You'll get no extras. No suggestions for improvement, no comments if they see danger ahead, no benefit of their own experience. I do feel there is the occasional person out of a thousand that will respond better to that kind of management, but that doesn't mean the rest will have to suffer.

In case of this guy, I'd sit him down and point out all that's been tried (e.g. "look, we've done all we can for you, we've done this, this and that. What I feel we've gotten in return for our efforts is this crap. So from now on, we have some new rules for you, and you alone. You will no longer discuss your personal life with anyone here while you're on my clock, you will do this, that, etc to the letter. And if you feel that we can later return to a less strict work relationship in the future, we can discuss it. But not for at least 6 months"). I'd give him time in that meeting, and in that meeting alone to cry, bitch, moan, and argue. Anything after is met with a harsh reply, "there is no further discussion on this matter. You need to understand that, or I'm going to have to get rid of you."

Just my opinion. I know that being in a supervisor roll myself, it's always been a case of catching more flies with honey than vinegar mentality for me, and I've always had better results than those who disagreed. Most people are pat on back motivated.

If he is causing so much grief why do you want to keep him? It may be that he needs the attention he gets from causing problems. I would evaluate why you feel the need to keep him and whether you think his behavior will change. Although firing employees is never pleasant, you have to do what is in the best interest of the company. Just my .02

"We've given this guy a ton of support both personally and professionally and he is regulalry throwing it back in our face, sending lengthy woe is me emails and generally deflecting the blame onto anyone and everyone but him"

I think that kind of attitude hinders growth, innovation, loyalty, etc.

I agree that you catch more flies with honey and with pat on the back motivation. It seems as if GillianLyn has given the honey and the pats on the back
"We've given this guy a ton of support both personally and professionally "

How much time/money do you spend on a crappy employee?
Ans = none
Employees should have a good attitude then when walk in the door, they will make mistakes, they will need guidance but if they have a bad attitude you will never change that, its not fair to the other workers for you to waste company money and time trying to accomplish such a task.

You are not doing someone a favor by keeping them in a position in which they are failing and will not excel.

Fire them, you are most likely sending them to a better place where they will fit in and succeed at what they are doing. Your workplace is not necessarily the right place for everyone, neither is it a kindergarden or daycare. (unless you are in the daycare business )

Right now Mr woe is me is stealing space and salary from somebody who could quite possibly be the best employee you ever hired.

Valid points Chris!

Maybe a slightly different take on this. If the person is a walking disaster both personally and professionally, and you have given it a shot, and their is no improvement, then its time to cut and run. 100% in agreement with the daycare statement!

However, there are those employees their are just about impossible to manage, but are huge assets to your organization by the one or two key things they bring to the table, that one might need to hire 2 or 3 new people to take up the slack should you can them. Those situations make firing a much more difficult situation. Sometimes you have to eat it in the shorts and let them go anyhow, but it sure puts a hit to the p&l for quite a while. Othertimes it may be acceptable to put some more time into figuring out what makes them click.

Years back, I had one guy that could do the work of 5 people when he was on. In addition, when something took a header, he was the one to solve the problem. However, when it came to day to day issues, it would have been better if he didn't even show.

The key was figuring out what motivated him, and what served to frustrate him, and then balancing the tasks as needed. For example, if he was not swamped, expect lots of headaches, if he was, things went a lot smoother, so the key was to keep his plate overfilled constantly. Yet another thing was to manage the people he worked with. If it was a challenging task, it was best he was not stuck with those not up to par. If it was a boring task, then having him cross train others worked pretty well.

However, the employee as desribed by the op appears a whiner, and thats where I fail in people management. I subscribe to the politically incorrect style of paternalistic dictator style of managment. High expectations bordering on unreasonable, combined with a high level of care and action when it comes to my employees. However, such an approach does not lend itself to compassion on those who whine. They won't come near expectations, and their will be no appreciation on their part when I take care of things for them either.

Sure wish I had something more concrete to say