It can be overwhelming dealing with staff. Even more so, it takes a special person to manage your staff.

Behaviors that really cause managers / business owners to go over the edge.

1. Staff members that try to call out of their shift with no coverage.
2. Staff members that look for every reason to not work.
3. Staff members that complain to other team members with a purpose of creating a toxic work environment.
4. Staff members that throw tantrums in front of other team members or clients.
5. Staff members that add unnecessary drama to another team members situation.
6. Staff members that try to hurt the reputation of the business.

Under NO circumstance should a manager or a business owner respond via text message.

Why do managers respond via text message?

1. To avoid confrontation.

2. To avoid a hostile conversation.

3. Insecurities.

4. To avoid dealing with the emotions of the staff Member.

5. Theory that there is confidentiality.

Why is it a bad idea to send a text message when terminating or disciplining a staff member?

1. No text message is confidential.

2. Text messages are often misconstrued regarding delivery and tone.

3. Employees feel that its impersonal and insensitive.

4. Text messages can be easily broadcasted over social media. The wrong responses can cause others to respond negatively.

5. In extreme situations, social media followers always take the side of the employee and not the business because the business legally can not discuss the specifics behind the comments without legal consequences.

6. In other extreme situations, businesses have faced death threats and boycotts. Thus, hurting the businesses reputation.

How to Handle staffing concerns?

1. If you are feeling emotional or angry, you need to remove yourself from the situation and contact a friend or a family member to vent (off the work premises).

2. Write down what the issues are and narrow down to the issue.

3. Go over how you are planning to handle the situation with a colleague or a supervisor.

4. If you have an HR department, you should run everything by HR. HR’s job is to handle these situations objectively and diplomatically using the proper documentation and forms.

5. Set a meeting with the staff member privately. You should be in the room with a colleague, HR, or your supervisor.

A.) get right to the point as to why your meeting and cite specific examples within the past day.

B.) Review Company policy and expectations. Clearly spell out what you expect.

C.) discuss the consequences that will result if the behaviors that need to be fixed continue.

D.) follow up in writing what you discussed.

E.) Do periodic check-ins with the staff member.

* Allow the staff member to voice concerns and communicate successes as well as setbacks.

The most important lesson that I have learned is that you need to try to work with others. The job of a great leader is to build leadership and independence. It is not about creating fear or terminating staff members as an ego trip, but to create an environment where results are produced and work is competitive in a healthy way.

Join me on 12/19/18 at 8pm for a twitter chat on how to handle work place toxicity. My twitter handle is @certsfolife