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| *Ostroff, Fair and Company>>>Administrative and Office Support |
How to manage difficult staff members? |
I must manage an old staff group who, first, never had a staff manager and second, doesn't want to do what is decided in a meeting. In other words, they really don't care for the decisions the direction take. What are good simple things we could do to make them follow orders and not do as they like? I agree with tigglys - you might want to pick up a copy of "The one-minute manager". Remember that when setting goals, they should be SMART - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, & Timely. It's also important that they really understand You have to create opportunities for your team to win - celebrate small accomplishments along the way, and be sure that your expectations are clear. When you decide what direction will be taken, it may help to break it down further - what steps will you take, and who will be responsible for each step? Let employees know that you'll be asking for progress reports at the next meeting. When the steps are completed on time, praise - when they're not, set new goals. Then pull the employee aside, and "Tell people exactly how you feel about what they did wrong. Pause to help your transition from your feelings to set-up the last and probably the most important part of a reprimand: reaffirmation. Reaffirm that you think well of them but not of their performance in this situation. Your intent is to get them back on course, not to try to make them feel badly. Remind them how much you value them. Realize that when the reprimand is over, it's over." (source of quote, 1st link below) Remember the eight steps of change: "Increase urgency - inspire people to move, make objectives real and relevant. Build the guiding team - get the right people in place with the right emotional commitment, and the right mix of skills and levels. Get the vision right - get the team to establish a simple vision and strategy, focus on emotional and creative aspects necessary to drive service and efficiency. Communicate for buy-in - Involve as many people as possible, communicate the essentials, simply, and to appeal and respond to people's needs. De-clutter communications - make technology work for you rather than against. Empower action - Remove obstacles, enable constructive feedback and lots of support from leaders - reward and recognise progress and achievements. Create short-term wins - Set aims that are easy to achieve - in bite-size chunks. Manageable numbers of initiatives. Finish current stages before starting new ones. Don't let up - Foster and encourage determination and persistence - ongoing change - encourage ongoing progress reporting - highlight achieved and future milestones. Make change stick - Reinforce the value of successful change via recruitment, promotion, new change leaders. Weave change into culture." (source is 2nd link below) Perhaps the most important - it's not about following orders - no one wants to be ordered around. It's about letting your employees know that they are valued, that their input counts, and that they are accountable when they agree to do something - whether it succeeds or not. Source(s): http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/old/12... http://www.businessballs.com/changemanag... Are these group decisions or are you making all of the decisions and telling them that they must do them? I have found that group buy in is critical in an office environment. If you are very nice to your staff and they like you, then they will be more likely to help and do as needed. Also if they were part of the plan and they can honestly give ideas and be heard - they will be more likely to do it as well. I would also recommend that you do away with the attitude of "I am the boss and you are the worker." It is apparent that you have this management style because you use the words " follow orders." No one likes to follow orders. I realize that we all have things that are required of us, however a little finesse goes a LONG way. What is their incentive to change? What is their "punishment" if you don't? It sounds like maybe these people aren't being rewarded for their work and just don't care anymore. It is really hard when people come in and start micromanaging people who have been self-managing for a while, so make any changes meaningful! They may have a reason for doing things a certain way that you don't understand. There need to be both positive and negative consequences for direction following. You need to win over the team. Try doing some team building whether it is rock climbing or going for a drink after work. Then you have a heart to heart with each member individually pointing out what you think they bring to the team and what you hope they will continue to do, outlining the goals of the team. Tell them you hope they will be a part of the team for a long time to come. If you are still having problems then you need to replace them with your own hires as you can. try 2 lunch out 2gether 2no more about ur staffs, from there things will progress n they'll change.{ it'll take sometime as they r old} Issue a memo or email after the meeting to reiterate what was decided and who is responsible for each objective. Now that it's in writing, hold people accountable for not achieving their objective as assigned. Ask them why they didn't follow directions and reprimand them if they don't have a reasonable answer. |
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