A harmonious team, all working together to achieve the same goals… That’s the ideal but unfortunately, this idyllic workplace rarely exists. In most businesses, the daily reality includes:
– Personality clashes
– Inappropriate behaviour (which covers a wide variety of actions)
– Poor performance
– Overwhelmed management teams, putting out fires while attempting to achieve business goals
Staff problems rarely resolve themselves. In fact, they are more likely to get worse, creating further problems such as:
– Poor employee morale and lack of engagement
– Reduced productivity
– High staff turnover
– And potentially, staff suffering psychological damage; leaving you legally liable
Nip Things In The Bud!
Great workplace culture relies on swift action to ensure small staff problems don’t escalate into major issues. Your options include:
1. Being proactive by having appropriate policies and procedures in place that clearly outline how you expect employees to behave – including at work, towards each other and online.
2. Regularly communicate your expectations so all staff follow these policies and procedures. Don’t just rely on telling them once (e.g. when they first join your organisation). Your staff need to know how important these policies and procedures are to you and your business.
3. Introduce a procedure for all complaints. Again, this process should be documented as part of your policies and procedures. All complaints should be treated with the utmost confidentiality.
4. Manage all disputes and complaints promptly and if you don’t feel you are equipped to resolve an issue, contact us. We’re always here to help you.
5. Exit interviews often provide enlightening feedback because staff are more likely to feel free to openly discuss any problems they experienced. Again, we can help you with this – particularly if you would like clarity on whether comments are “sour grapes” or genuine concerns.
Can You Dismiss Perpetrators?
Possibly. But only if you follow a clear path of:
– Informal and formal discussions
– Counselling, retraining and possibly mediation
– In serious claims, investigating the problem
Every case is different. That’s why the Fair Work Commission is kept so busy with claims. However, with appropriate policies, procedures and a little expert help when things begin to get tricky, you should be able to achieve that idyllic workplace scenario, most days.
For all the help you need, when you need it, talk to the team at End2End Business Solutions. We’re here to prevent any workplace problems and help you quickly resolve them when they occur.
To find out more, call us on 02 8977 4002.