The human capital is defined as the collective skills, knowledge, or other assets of individuals that are used to create economic value for the individuals, employers, or the community.
If you run a business, problematic employees aren’t new to you. And the reason you’re here right now is you’re having an issue that goes beyond the capability of your current human resource personnel or management team.
Here are some of the steps you can try to help you root out and deal with the human capital issues of your company:
Evaluate first. Before doing any action, it’s crucial to stop everything you’re doing first and take a look at your company’s current situation so that you can arm yourself with a clear, current perspective. Assess the employee in different settings and look for behaviours that introduce toxicity or stress into situations.
General observation. Don’t fall to the temptation of responding to complaints or innuendo without evaluating the situation yourself. Talk with everyone involved and collect all the facts before you act. Don’t discount the possibility that sometimes, anyone can have a bad day or week. If a usual easy-to-work-with employee is suddenly uncommunicative and uncooperative, consider that they may having some personal problems.
Create a plan of action. After observing, assess whether a counselling, coaching, discipline, or training is necessary.
Counselling focuses on problem issues and comes with implications, which includes asking the employee to cease the behaviour or he or she will be placed in a performance program or even be fired. These circumstances can be turned into coaching activities.
Coaching focuses on specific behaviour modification while disciplining reflect an immediate improvement program with included implications.
With all of these plan of action, make sure to involve your human resources team. Training, on the other hand, supports skills development and helps fill knowledge gaps.
Confront issues head-on. Never put issues off. Yes, it’s never pleasant, but it’s vital for the sake of the company. It rarely fixes itself anyway, and it can get worse. Plan the confrontation and execute. Remember, everyone in the team will be watching and waiting.
Focus on behaviour, not person. The aim here is to create a solution, not to “win”. Focus on any inappropriate behaviour, and don’t attack the person involved. Not all behaviour is caused by negative intent. It can be confusion, fear, personal problem, or lack of motivation.
Plan and follow up if required. Minor issues, like being late for work can be resolved with a simple chat. Others might require multiple confrontations before creating a solution.
Remember to be patient and don’t always expect instant results. Focus on continuous improvement rather than trying to solve the problem instantly.
Getting support outside the box. Sometimes, internal issues are fixed with outside support. If the company’s management team is having a hard time assessing where the issue is, acquiring a human resource management consultation can make the difference between a recovered and sustained company and a mismanaged or dying company.
Dealing with difficult employees is a tough process both for the company and of course, the employee in question. Nevertheless, it is part of your responsibility and a prerequisite for a sustained and successful company. Being timely and using a deliberate approach to moving around these difficult issues will help your company survive and flourish.
