Running a business is way more than just doing the work. What happens when someone in your business is not doing their work? I have had several clients at a place in their business where they are growing, but employees in their business are not growing with them. It is weird to start seeing these employees become more entitled and embedded in the way work “was done” in the past. They have an argument and excuse why their old way is better. One of the funniest statements from this type of employee is when they say their work is so complicated that it requires extra work on their part to meet the requirements. Work that someone else cannot do. If someone’s job is so complicated that no one else can do it, it cannot change, or it takes too long, then either they are unwilling to change, they are incompetent, or there really is a problem with your business systems.
For my clients, it was all three. No one else could do the work because the person had made it so complicated it was not efficient or functional. They were also unwilling to change because it meant giving up control. This resulted in broken systems in their business. The options? Option 1– Fire them or Option 2– get them on board.
If you want to get them onboard and ensure they are really part of the new team you need to allow them to take control of the change in their job.
- Give them the new work and ask them to implement it.
- Give them a deadline.
- Stay on top of their progress. Don’t wait until the deadline to check-in, do it every day.
- Have them explain what they are doing, what the issues are, and what is working well.
- Give them a teammate to work with that must also understand the changes and be able to take over.
- Give them credit for what they accomplish.
- Don’t accept excuses unless they come with a workaround that fits with the company’s growth plan.
- If they don’t make progress, you always have Option 1.
Great employees are not people that do complicated work that no one else can do, they are great people that take pride in the work they do because they know it makes a difference to the business and their own lives. Problematic employees cost your business in numerous ways. Don’t spend too much time with a problematic employee that is unwilling to change.
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