I can remember a long time ago I was working for this company for about two years and things started off great. At one point during my employment, I had decided to go back to school to pursue a career in radio broadcasting. I would get up in the morning and go to work for eight hours, than spend the next four to five hours at school. I was pretty tired at the end of the week and can remember falling asleep at work as well. At that time I was dealing with a great deal of stress in my life. I had just got evicted from my apartment and things were tough for me in my personal life. I tried not to bring my issues to work each day; however, I began to have several problems with the quality of my work. Things seem to creep up on my pretty fast and before I knew it I was being wrote up by my boss and faced a 90 day probation period. I was a little troubled at how management treated me despite the encouraging and understanding language they used. I thought to myself that I would handle the situation much better.
Putting myself in that situation at this mid-sized company, I think I may decide to handle a troubled employee a little differently. As soon as I would have noticed the substandard performance, I would schedule a meeting with the employee to discuss expectations. I would ask the troubled employee if there were any personal problems that I could help them resolve. Maybe the employee is like I was at my company and just needed some time off or a restructuring of his schedule. Maybe I could offer a training class on time management for the employee. Anything I could do to help this person without actually getting into the details of their issues would be considered. Once I would ask about the employee’s possible life problems I would inform them of the growing concerns I have.
Letting the employee know that I’ve noticed certain issues like substandard work would be the main objective of the meeting. I would tell him that I wanted to help him out in any way I can so we can get things back in the right direction. When I had an issue at my company, I never felt like management was on my side. With this employee I would present options to help them improve their performance. Most companies offer career development classes and I would point this employee in that direction. Talking to him about his career desire and what it would take to get there would help him understand that I am there to help and not to scold him. My goal in this situation is to present a positive face to the employee to show that I do value this employee as a competent individual. (Cahn & Abigail 2007) Since the employee is confrontational, I would anticipate some anger from this individual. In that situation I would make sure that I ask the employee questions to see if we are on the same page. Making sure that the employee understands me and doesn’t take my statements the wrong way can diffuse a hostile situation.
Effective managers must use S-TLC System in situations like this one. Once I have “Stopped,” and realized the problem, thought about how to communicate with the employee, and listened to possible outside issues affecting their work, then it’s time to communicate a solution. Once I have covered my bases and established a commitment of my time and efforts to help this individual, I will inform them of the next step if we cannot resolve the issues. I will emphasize the importance that we fix these issues A.S.A.P. or there is a strong possibility that both parties will have to part ways.
My situation was much different from what I’ve just suggested I would do. I never got a choice in the matter and it might have clouded my opinions about management. Managers should always consider the fact that employees want to see that there is a team and not just hear that they are a part of a team. True team members help each other and as the leader of a team, managers are supposed to make sure their troops don’t get left behind. I rebounded from my issues and remained with the company for five more years. I have no hard feelings toward management but I do think it could have been handled differently. I would hope that my attempt with this employee would be more helpful than my actual experience.
Sources:
Cahn & Abigail (2007) “Managing Conflict through Communication”
Responding to Conflict. New York 2007.
Putting myself in that situation at this mid-sized company, I think I may decide to handle a troubled employee a little differently. As soon as I would have noticed the substandard performance, I would schedule a meeting with the employee to discuss expectations. I would ask the troubled employee if there were any personal problems that I could help them resolve. Maybe the employee is like I was at my company and just needed some time off or a restructuring of his schedule. Maybe I could offer a training class on time management for the employee. Anything I could do to help this person without actually getting into the details of their issues would be considered. Once I would ask about the employee’s possible life problems I would inform them of the growing concerns I have.
Letting the employee know that I’ve noticed certain issues like substandard work would be the main objective of the meeting. I would tell him that I wanted to help him out in any way I can so we can get things back in the right direction. When I had an issue at my company, I never felt like management was on my side. With this employee I would present options to help them improve their performance. Most companies offer career development classes and I would point this employee in that direction. Talking to him about his career desire and what it would take to get there would help him understand that I am there to help and not to scold him. My goal in this situation is to present a positive face to the employee to show that I do value this employee as a competent individual. (Cahn & Abigail 2007) Since the employee is confrontational, I would anticipate some anger from this individual. In that situation I would make sure that I ask the employee questions to see if we are on the same page. Making sure that the employee understands me and doesn’t take my statements the wrong way can diffuse a hostile situation.
Effective managers must use S-TLC System in situations like this one. Once I have “Stopped,” and realized the problem, thought about how to communicate with the employee, and listened to possible outside issues affecting their work, then it’s time to communicate a solution. Once I have covered my bases and established a commitment of my time and efforts to help this individual, I will inform them of the next step if we cannot resolve the issues. I will emphasize the importance that we fix these issues A.S.A.P. or there is a strong possibility that both parties will have to part ways.
My situation was much different from what I’ve just suggested I would do. I never got a choice in the matter and it might have clouded my opinions about management. Managers should always consider the fact that employees want to see that there is a team and not just hear that they are a part of a team. True team members help each other and as the leader of a team, managers are supposed to make sure their troops don’t get left behind. I rebounded from my issues and remained with the company for five more years. I have no hard feelings toward management but I do think it could have been handled differently. I would hope that my attempt with this employee would be more helpful than my actual experience.
Sources:
Cahn & Abigail (2007) “Managing Conflict through Communication”
Responding to Conflict. New York 2007.
Purpose: You have correctly posted the required assignment to your blog. It was interesting and had adequate sources. Your blog page is very informative but minimizes your personal life. It is obvious that your classmates are your audience and you have targeted them well. I am not experienced enough to offer professional blogger advice but one thing I would say is to offer a suggestion as to how to be more successful.
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