Smells Bad : How To Manage A Low Performance Employee In Your Company

Recently, I met a friend at Palu, Central Sulawesi, right before my flight back to my hometown in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It's quite a long time since we haven't met, around 5 years, and the last time we've seen each other was when we're in college. She's handling an accessories and art shop at a central shopping mall in Palu, where she had to manage several staff to maximize the sales. The conversation takes a very short time because we have to buy several gifts and need to chase a flight right on time. So we're walking while a discussion came out with an inspiring comment each other.

It's an imperfect world where we're having a fact that our staff not always our best chosen candidates for the right job. Somehow, we're heading with a reality where they're the best choice among all of the worst one. Yet it still has a doubt whether he or she could obligate their duties and perform a good performance at work. The show must go on and the time ticking by, so we need to fulfill the human resources to run the business right away.

We're moving into the next chapter of the conversation where she had a difficulty in some people which was not her best choice. It's quite a difficult thing to explain over and over again about his or her job description while they're still making the same mistake. Not include their stubborn and lazy attitude. It sounds like an impossible thing to do in your business role but indeed, sometimes manager or CEO trapped in an awkward situation where they have no other choice beside hire those people.

The same thing happened when I have a business project in 2011, our team consists of several people having different background but doing the same goal and direction. We have a solid people from machinery, production, plantation, research and development, marketing also finance. One thing came out when the negotiator has no skills required for the project moving, but he insists to keep on going with the team due to his contribution in finding all of us. He was connected between the investor and the supplier, that's what he could bring to us. For daily strategy and activity plan or even a final decision, he wasn't able to bring the main course right to the table. Not long from that imposed situation, the team we're falling apart and the project doesn't run well.

So what would we do when we're heading the same situation in our business, company or project? Does he or she need to be terminated from the team? But how can we run the business when we need human resources to handle the job, whether he or she was the best choice among the worst one?
Here are several of my tips when we're having that bad smell.
1.    Examine Their Productivity and Performance
One way we have to remember that even a wart has a function in the footer. Because of wart, we feel pain and itchy, and then we’re scratching it and made another part of our foot radius. Those other reddish part could feel that something needs to be fixed and adjust their colors to red due to their function run well together.
It’s the same way with a stubborn, lazy or other negative perform by the staff. They do have something that could bring the company to step into the next level, sometimes their skills cannot be compared to other staff. And sometimes the other employee won’t deal with it, they’re making a circle around that employee and keep them away from that circle. Make a list of their positive and negative perform, also their productivity at work. From that list, it could be ddetermined​where he or she worthy enough to be sustained.
2.    Tell Them What They Are
After that examination and judgment released, try to tell them what they are in a good way. A productivity report from the HR manager would be the perfect reason you could give to them. Remind them that the company needs standard qualification for staff and team, so they could understand the difference between the a good perform staff and the bad one.
If they understand about the situation and they need the job to maintain life, it could change their ways
3.    Place Them In A Difficult Team or Tasks
Sometimes they need more challenge to bring their perform upfront while the others think it’s enough for them just only to fulfill their job and task from the boss. By putting them into challenging team or difficult task, there’s a passion and willing to win the competition. 
4.    Send Them In The Distance
Relocated a staff to in branch offices located in another town would be a cheap way to  make them understand what the company want from their staff. It also gives some time to think about what they’ve done, and change their way of mind to follow the company’s direction.
5.    Made Them Into The Bandits Team Leader
This tip requires a deep examination before taking into an action. Having several people in less performance would be a matter when they’re still acting like nothing’s wrong with them and the company also treated them like everything is alright. Other employee which was having a good productivity and performance would be jealous because they knew it’s not a proper job qualification they’ve made, but the company does nothing at all for them. Groups of ‘bandits’ could decrease a good performance staff somehow. The alternative solution would be placing them into one group, get the strongest candidates to become their chief, and uses a series of duty to be accomplished. Give them a reward or a bonus to boost their spirits.

Conflict management wasn’t a good idea in business role and sometimes people avoid it, but somehow it helps us to manage and lead various kinds of human resources, maximizing their skills and ability to reach the corporate’s objective.