When Frustrations Build Up Before Anyone Deals With Them

A small Tech business in Blackburn came to me after a situation with an employee had started to escalate.  The management team had been frustrated for some time about what they saw as a negative approach from the employee. He regularly questioned business decisions and processes and was seen as challenging by members of the management team.  The difficulty was that, although these concerns had been discussed amongst managers, they had never really been addressed with the employee.  There had been no clear conversation about the concerns, no opportunity for the employee to understand how his behaviour was being perceived and no real attempt to resolve things informally. 

Then an incident happened where the employee failed to fulfil a commitment. The business responded by inviting him straight to an investigation meeting.  The employee questioned the approach. His view was that he had not been given an opportunity to understand or resolve the concerns informally before the business moved into a formal investigation process.  The business sought advice and decided that, before taking things further, a protected conversation would be appropriate.  That conversation opened up a much wider discussion. Historic performance concerns were raised with the employee, which then resulted in him raising a grievance about the way the situation had been handled.  At that point, the business needed to step back and work out how best to move forward rather than continuing to add more layers to an already difficult situation.  I advised the business throughout the process, helping them understand their options, the risks involved and how to approach the situation fairly and proportionately. 

Ultimately, we were able to facilitate an agreed exit between the business and the employee, with a reasonable settlement reached by both parties.  For me, the learning from this case isn't simply about how to manage an employee who is seen as negative or challenging.  It's about dealing with concerns when they arise.  If a manager is repeatedly frustrated by someone's behaviour, quietly complaining about it within the management team isn't going to resolve it. The employee needs to know what the concern is, have an opportunity to respond and, where appropriate, be given the chance to change things.  Sometimes a difficult employee situation can be resolved with a straightforward conversation much earlier on. Leaving things until the frustration has built up, and then moving straight into a formal process, can make the situation much more complicated than it needed to be.​  Click here to access the Employee Relations Checklist.

If you're finding yourself getting increasingly frustrated with an employee but aren't sure what to do next, book a free discovery call. I'll help you work out the best way forward, whether that's having a difficult conversation, managing a formal process or, if the relationship has reached the end of the road, supporting you with an agreed exit or settlement agreement.