How to Manage Problem Employees E-Book

Glenn Shepard

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 340

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

There was a time when people were committed to working hard and being productive in the work force. Today, however, some workers have an entitlement mentality and the labor pool includes some people who donâ??t want a job - just a paycheck. In response to this trend, Glenn Shepard has written How to Manage Problem Employees. This comprehensive book will tell you how to set new hires up for success, structure compensation packages to maximize their involvement and work ethic, deal with problem areas before they become bad behavior, and motivate slow and often unmotivated employees. You'll learn the different personality types and how to handle specific manifestations of each, including gossiping, back stabbing, direct confrontation, hypochondriacs, breaking the chain of command, and sarcasm, as well as how to terminate employees while staying on solid legal ground.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Preface

CHAPTER 1 - What Happened to the American Work Ethic?

A Country of Couch Potatoes

Too Many Castles, Too Few Kings

Litigation Nation

Today’s Generation

A Pill-Popping Nation

Blue Handicapped Parking Placards

Scooter Envy

Grunge Music and Gangster Rap

Television Began Ridiculing Authority Figures

People Are Looking for a Free Ride

The Death of Laissez-Faire

The Assault on Employment-at-Will

Conclusion

CHAPTER 2 - Becoming the Manager You Need to Be

Is This Job Right for You?

Brandish Your Weapon and Hope You Never Have to Use It

America Is Desperate for Strong Leaders

Why You Must Liberate Your Organization of Dysfunctional Employees

You Must Lead by Example

Choose Your Battles Carefully

Be Specific

Baby Steps

Understand the Difference between Control and Authority

Understand the Difference between Leadership, Supervision, and Management

Avoid Battered Manager Syndrome

Conclusion

CHAPTER 3 - Creating a Healthy Work Environment

Define Clear Boundaries

Is Rebellion Always Bad?

Set the Tone for Your Company

We’re People Bound by a Paycheck

Use Mentors to Instill Good Work Habits in New Employees

Use a Camcorder to Re-create the Hawthorne Effect

The Importance of Dress Code

Conclusion

CHAPTER 4 - How Do I Avoid Hiring Problem Employees?

Don’t Hire People You Intend to Fix

What Are the Choices?

Decide What You’re Looking for in an Employee

How Many Employees Should I Hire?

Where Do I Find Good People to Hire?

Always Be Recruiting

Screening before the Interview

Screening during the Interview

Screening after the Interview

Conclusion

CHAPTER 5 - Taming the Compensation Monster

Entitlements versus Incentives

The Problem with Raises

Seniority, Salary Creep, and Coasting

When Employees Ask for a Raise

The Tennessee Titans Face a Tough Management Decision

The Ideal Compensation Plan

Will Bonuses Cause Friction between Employees?

Conclusion

CHAPTER 6 - How to Avoid Legal Pitfalls

Consider Having Employees Agree to Binding Arbitration

Consult with a Good Attorney before Problems Occur

Have Employees Confirm Employment-at-Will Status

Reiterate Your Right to Change Terms of Employment at Any Time

Using Misrepresentations and Omissions to Your Advantage

Get Permission and Release of Liability to Run Background Checks

Employment Practices Liability Insurance

Hire on Probation

Limit Conversations at Termination

Secure a Release of Claims When Terminating an Employee

Don’t Provide References on Former Employees

Protect Yourself from False Claims of Racism and Sexism

How Bad Is Sexual Harassment?

Playing the Race Card

Conclusion

CHAPTER 7 - Why People Do the Things They Do

If You Loved Me, You Would Buy This for Me

The Pain of Being Bad Must Outweigh the Pleasure

Understanding How Anger Works

Forcing Angry People to De-Escalate

The Passive-Aggressive Individual

The Assertive Individual

Conclusion

CHAPTER 8 - How to Get Employees to Come to Work and Be on Time

Professionalism and Absenteeism

What Is reasonable?

What Doesn’t Work

Rewarding Punctuality

Rewarding Good Attendance

Punishing Excessive Absenteeism and Attendance

Conclusion

CHAPTER 9 - The Art of Discipline

How Many Chances Should an Employee Get?

Calculate Your Return on Investment

Progressive Discipline

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

Spontaneous Termination

Conclusion

CHAPTER 10 - Fighting Abuse of Unemployment Benefits

Why Unemployment Benefits Are a Sham

How to Win Claims for Unemployment Benefits

Conclusion

CHAPTER 11 - How to Handle Daily Challenges Problem Employees Create

Bad Attitudes

Bad Bosses

Blaming Others

Breaking the Chain of Command

Bringing Personal Problems to Work

Camping Out in the Restroom

Carelessness

Cell Phones

Character and Integrity

Cheating on Time Sheets

Chronic Arguing

Chronic Complaining and Whining

Company Charge Card Abuse

Company Vehicle Misuse

Conflicts between Coworkers

Crying

Cyber Loafing

Dropping the Ball

English as a Second Language

Eating at One’s Desk

Employee Theft

Excessive Personal Phone Calls

Extramarital Affairs between Employees

Falsifying Expense Reports or Mileage Logs

Foul Language

Friends

Gossiping

Group Gripe Sessions

Guns in the Workplace

High-Maintenance Employees

Hypochondriacs

Indecisiveness

Insubordination

Irresponsibility

Know-It-Alls

Lame Ducks

Laziness

Loaning Money to Employees

Looking for Another Job on Company Time

Lying

Managing Off-Site Employees

Motivating Slackers

Perfectionism

Political Correctness

“Poor Pitiful Me” Syndrome

Resistance to Change

Slow Pokes

Substance Abuse

Task Avoidance

Tattletales

That′s Not in My Job Description

The Meddling Spouse

The Peter Principle

Toxic Personalities

Ungratefulness

Video Monitoring of Employees

Workaholism

Working on Holidays

Your Own Family Members

Conclusion

Notes

Index

Copyright © 2005 by Glenn Shepard. All rights reserved

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Shepard, Glenn, 1963-

How to manage problem employess : a step-by-step guide for turning difficult employees into high performers / Glenn Shepard. p. cm.

ISBN-13 978-0-471-73043-9 (pbk.) ISBN-10 0-471-73043-2 (pbk.)

1. Problem employees. 2. Personnel management. 3. Problem employees. 4. Personnel management. I. Title.

HF5549.5.E42S53 2005

658.3’045—dc22

2005004377

Preface

Throughout our country’s history, pastors and politicians have proclaimed they were living in precarious times. Each generation believed it lived in a critical period of American history. As we look back with the clarity of hindsight, it becomes obvious that some generations witnessed history in the making, while others lived through relatively benign times. Many events that seemed monumental have faded into the annals of history as nothing more than slight blips on the radar screen, while others changed our country forever.

The sinking of the Titanic was the greatest news story of its time, but has little historical significance today. America’s failed attempt to change over to the decimal system in the 1970s had little lasting significance, even though I remember one pastor who predicted it was the end of the world. Then came the biggest much ado about nothing the world has ever seen with Y2K. I laugh when I think about how many people stockpiled food and water in preparation for social anarchy on January 1, 2000. Today I look at all the people talking on cell phones and wonder what happened to the reports that cell phones cause brain cancer. Either those reports were wrong or the world will need many more oncologists in the future.