If you are saying things like “I just can’t rely on [insert employee name]”, you have an unreliable employee. By tolerating unreliable behaviour, you are effectively asking your other staff to do their own work plus a portion of the unreliable staff member’s work. Over time, the stress and fatigue they experience will affect their productivity. In turn, this could lead to other problems in your business. What makes an employee unreliable? Unreliable employees tend to fall into 2 groups – those who have been unreliable from the start and good performers who are now unreliable.
- Unreliable from the start
Initially you may have blamed unreliable behaviour on youth, being new to the organisation or any of the excuses the unreliable employee may have given you. However, you now realise it’s more than that. Your inaction will communicate you are happy to accept unreliable behavior so you need to act promptly. Talk to the unreliable worker. Be specific about what they are doing and how it needs to change. In addition, try to uncover the reason for their unreliability. Things to look for are:
- The wrong position for their skillset or personality
- A lack of training so they don’t have the knowledge to perform the job well
- Interpersonal issues with other members of the team
- Problems at home or with their health
- Lifestyle issues such as mid-week partying or addictions
- Formerly good workers who are now unreliable
When formerly productive and reliable workers change, you need to uncover what has caused the change. Things to look for are:
- A lack of challenge or boredom in their current role. If you value your employee, look for ways to advance their skill set otherwise you will lose them.
- A dispute with other team members or their supervisor. This needs to be resolved quickly before more staff become involved.
- Being the target of workplace bullying or other inappropriate actions. Again, this needs to be resolved quickly for both moral and legal reasons.
- Family problems distracting the employee from their work. In this case, find ways to support them at work and help them find support services to assist them outside of work hours.
- Health issues or addictions that may be affecting their ability to work efficiently. In this situation, always seek advice from experienced HR experts before attempting to handle this type of personnel problem.
Whatever the reason, never ignore the behavior of an unreliable worker. By doing so, you are asking your other staff to do more than their fair share of work. End2End Business Solutions offers business owners a range of support services to help them deal with unreliable staff members. To discover if End2End can help you, call 02 8977 4002.