The Service Advocate…(Part 8)
Have you ever wondered about the impact that a bad employee can have on good employees?  This one employee with a bad attitude can lower the standards of good employees to the extent that the entire department or business place can suffer. Now, what is doubly puzzling is that the reverse does not seem to be true.  The attitude of good employees does not seem to be contagious and does not seem to encourage those with a lax attitude towards their jobs to be better at what they do.

How is it that so few can do so much to so many?  This is a riddle that many employers have struggled to figure out. 

In this week’s article, we will outline some points to consider that will help you to understand how to deal with this situation.  Because the nature of every business is different, it is difficult for us to tell you of one true solution that will fix this problem.  You can apply what we will discuss to your unique operation. 

Firstly, let us identify some of the signs that you will notice in employees who have a bad attitude towards their job. Do you find yourself grumbling about a particular employee who just exudes an attitude of not caring?  Are there some employees that never get motivated no matter what incentive is offered?  Do you have a certain employee who just “gets by” somehow by doing the minimum amount of work or putting in the minimum amount of effort each day and your other employees know this?  Do you find yourself apologising or making excuses for a particular employee whose output is not anywhere close to the efforts of the other employees? 

Why are they still employed by you?  Do you have an answer? 

One of the most compelling reasons why this may not be done in most businesses is because it is difficult to find good employees and so you may be willing to accept their faults.  When faced with the reality of having to find new employees and going through the process of training, all of a sudden you find reasons to think that their attitudes are understandable.  Another reason may be that you want to give them a chance to improve, to do better.  After all, it certainly is not easy to find new jobs and especially if these employees have families, then how could you possibly find it in your heart to terminate their employment? 

Termination is a drastic step and it is a difficult decision and one that you should indeed consider carefully.  Think about this: people in your employment started out wanting to do a great job for themselves, their families, their personal job satisfaction and, of course, they wanted to do a great job for you as well.  Then why have their drive to do so spiral downwards?  Why are they now satisfied with the low standards they are now working by?  Whose fault is it?  It is for these reasons that we said that the option to terminate someone’s employment deserves some thought.  It is your responsibility to provide an environment for your employees that is healthy and safe; one in which they can thrive and give you their best; one in which their morale is kept high and where they can achieve the job satisfaction that they seek.

Bear in mind that should they not improve, it is your business that will suffer.  Competition is severe in today’s market and service is the only thing that sets businesses apart.  Is it not true that you can find the same products in almost every store you visit?  So, it is not merely the availability of products that encourage customers – new and existing – to patronise your business; the service that you offer plays a great part in consumers’ decisions.  

What have we learnt from this article?  Have we concluded that you should fire someone immediately if they are not performing as they should?

Or should you be lenient and flexible and let their bad attitudes filter down to the good employees? 

There is no one answer.  You have to be the judge and you have to fair in your assessment of the situation.  If it is your fault as the employers, and you have not created the right environment for your employees, there is no way that they will function at their best. 

However, if you have done all that you could, you have provided incentives, training and other benefits, and that employee has not improved, then you cannot allow that one person to poison the attitudes of your good employees.  Those good employees who you wish to keep in your employ will think to themselves that if you do not care to fix the situation, then they will be tempted to not care as well.
If good and bad employees are treated the same, the good employees will definitely start to relax their high standards and you will most certainly see the results in your bottom line. 

(Nadine King and Tameca Sukhdeo-Singh can be contacted via email at: cru@networksgy.com)