How to Save Massive Amounts of Cash By Fixing At-Risk Employees
Do you have an employee in your organization who is at-risk? Chances are you do. The signals can range from reduced productivity and tardiness to increased use of sick days and detrimental attitude shifts. If the signals go unnoticed, if there are no proactive steps taken, the end result is the loss of that employee.
In today’s world of work, company loyalty doesn’t mean exactly what it used to. In another time, employees stayed with companies for the life of their career. They stayed through thick and thin. Employees today aren’t governed by that same definition. Instead, they expect to work for multiple companies over the course of their career. Indeed, they are continually shopping for companies and jobs that increase their skills, pique their interests, keep them challenged, and benefit them financially. In this work climate, at-risk employees don’t tough it out. Instead, they move on. If your at-risk employee is one that you value, it’s time to get proactive.
What’s the Real Problem?
Steve, an at-risk employee
The first step in resolving conflict is to identify the problem. And I’m talking about the real problem and not just the symptom(s).
To illustrate, let me tell you about Steve, an Orange/Green employee of a mid-sized advertising firm based in Manhattan. He’s talented, skillful, and very adroit at brainstorming ideas, schmoozing clients, troubleshooting problems, and energizing other team members. He is responsible for a good portion of the firm’s success and is a valuable member of the firm.
Unfortunately, Steve has been consistently arriving 10 to 15 minutes late to work each morning, which is expressly forbidden in the employee handbook. And his Gold manager isn’t too happy about it.
That is the symptom. Now let’s look at how his manager tries to fix Steve’s behavior. Below are three different scenarios and their possible solutions and outcomes.
Scenario #1
- Problem: Unknown
- Possible Solution: Steve’s manager calls him into the office for a pep talk on the importance of arriving to work on time. Steve listens and promises to improve. The manager informs Steve that he will be written up if he continues to be late.
- Possible Outcome: Steve is on time for the next 3 weeks. At the end of that time, he begins to slip back into the pattern of tardiness that he held prior to the meeting with the manager. The threat of a write-up seems to be ineffectual at this point. Steve makes a decision to begin looking for another job. He feels that his manager is too policy driven and restrictive.
Scenario #2
- Problem: Steve’s work load has become overwhelming. He is working late hours to get work done and has lost the balance between work and personal time.
- Possible Solution: Steve’s manager requests a meeting with Steve to discuss his tardiness. During the meeting, Steve is asked to explain the reason for his behavior. Steve explains that he is working until late in the evening to accomplish his tasks and is so exhausted from lack of any down time that he is having trouble waking in the morning. Steve’s manager offers a choice. Steve can choose to allow some of his workload to be delegated to other employees, or he can choose to set his own hours (as long as he puts in a 40-hour work week).
- Possible Outcome: Steve’s projects were all well underway so he chose to set his own hours. He still has an overwhelming amount of work to do, but he feels less stressed about “clocking in.” He also has found that he works best when others have “clocked out” for the day. He is still putting in a full work week, the tardiness issue is solved, and he can more easily schedule in down-time with his revised schedule.
Scenario #3
- Problem: Steve dreads coming to work each morning. He knows that he has a lot to contribute to the team, however, he feels that his talents are being underused and undervalued.
- Possible Solution: Steve’s manager calls him into the office for a meeting. In the course of the meeting, the manager comments on Steve’s arrival time. Steve does not indicate a reason for his tardiness. Steve’s manager doesn’t let the matter rest. He asks Steve if he is happy at work. Steve hesitantly explains that while he believes that he could enjoy working for the company, he currently feels undervalued and is unfulfilled. Steve’s manager truly does value Steve and doesn’t want to lose him to a competitor. He asks what needs to be done and listens carefully to Steve’s comments.
- Possible Outcome: Steve finally feels as if he has been heard. While his manager couldn’t make any immediate promises, things have been improving at work. He has been assigned challenging tasks that require his skill set and has been asked to join work groups that will benefit from his expertise. Steve is once again on-time to work. He is beginning to enjoy working again and has a much more positive attitude.
While simplistic, these scenarios show that understanding the problem is the key to identifying the best solution. When Steve’s manager treated only the symptom, the problem returned. If the manager would have guessed at the problem based solely on the behavior, he may never have gotten to the working solution.
What are the Possibilities?
Once the problem has been identified and understood, it’s time to brainstorm value-based solutions. Solutions to conflict must be acceptable within the company climate and they must be acceptable in the eyes of the employee in question. Solutions that do not meet these standards are, in effect, not solutions at all.
Because employee buy-in is a key component in the resolution, it’s wise to include them in the possibilities process. When everyone comes to the table to work through a solution, you are able to see a variety of viewpoints — some of which you may never have considered. At the same time, your employees may begin to understand your viewpoints more clearly. In any case, this collaboration allows everyone a share in the responsibility for the success of the solution.
The Bottom Line
Research has suggested that it would cost between $17,500 and $50,000 to replace an employee who makes $25,000 per year (between 70 and 200 percent of the original salary). This cost estimate does not include intangibles such as time, morale, customer satisfaction, and loss of productivity. Organizations need to keep valued employees. Employees need to know (in word and deed) that they are valued. Turning around turn over and rejuvenating at-risk employees is not only a smart human resources move, it’s good for your bottom line.