If you encounter an employee with issues, what are the first things you do or say to him? You do not fire anyone immediately. You would want to lead, develop, and empower your employees to be a better member of an organization, and to be a better person for them.

To make better employees, ideally, you should do the following:

• Keep interactions positive and instructive


• Convey expectations


• Educate on policies


• Explain nuances of the business


• Model appropriate interactions with customers and vendors


• Encourage employees to ask questions if they are uncertain on some tasks


• Acknowledge they valuable professional insights

However, no matter how you follow the above instructions on how to handle your employees, and no matter how much you encourage them and give them positive feedback, problems with employees happen. Common employee issues are:

• Poor quality job performance below standard levels


• Attendance issues (absences and tardiness)


• Company policy violations


• Other illegal actions

What other employee issues can you think of? What are you going to do with these kinds of issues? Here are 6 guides to handle your employees.

1. Know your rights and obligations as an employer. Understand how employment-at-will concepts are works in your locality. Depending on the laws that govern your locality (or country), you may be able to terminate an employee without cause, as an employee can leave the organization for any reason, if no contract between the two exists. Know other laws, e.g. claiming of compensation, emergence of discriminatory practices, etc. It is helpful to seek help of a legal counsel or a human resource expert to design company policies.


2. Investigate on the issue. If you sense a possible recurring policy violation, find a way to see it first-hand. Do not rely on third party reports, especially not on hearsay or grapevine. But treat it as a warning or alert that you have to start checking on your organization more closely. Find out why and how the issue occurred, which may come from simple misunderstandings, or personal difficulties.


3. Counsel your employees and talk to them about hurdles to achieving business goals and objectives, dealing with difficult customers and vendors, and more. Give them straightforward direction. Show empathy to personal-related concerns like chronically-ill family members or relationship break ups. Do not take ownership of the problem but make suggestions on how to address their issues.


4. Use progressive disciplinary approach. Document all communications. The approach starts with specifying the problem, followed by reminding about company requirements. Then explain clearly about your expectation - the behavior or results that you expect from the employee in the future. A follow up is a must to ensure compliance to agreements. Addressing failures to comply is progressive too. Start with a (private) face-to-face warning. The second offense deserves a written warning that requires the employee's signature as proof that he or she understands the actions compulsory to resolve the issue, e.g. termination or suspension. Both parties must each have a copy of the warning. Always end the warning session by clarifying any points of confusion. Always listen to employee's rationalization of his actions, or other explanations, but keep your business goals as your objectives and remind him of his job responsibilities.


5. Make the break. During your counseling sessions, the employee may realize that he isn't a good fit to the company, and he may leave voluntarily. If he chooses to stay and continues to perform below expectations, you may opt for termination. Find the best time and setting to let the employee know that he will be terminated. If possible, arrange a reliable manager or supervisor to attend the termination session to avoid questions about your (private) conversation in the future. Immediately end the employee's contract. If there are no security risks with the employee, allow him to gather his personal belongings and make a graceful exit. Disable all the employees access to all company facilities and networks as soon as possible. Serious issues, like threats of violence, drug and alcohol abuse, deserves the quickest action, which is termination.


6. Keep a positive environment. An unproductive employee inhibits employee morale, affecting the whole business operations. An employee termination may have a negative impact, but your best employees will be pleased to realize that the business is protected, ensuring them of the possibility of their future in the company. Termination sessions are confidential, and retained employees must feel confidence and trust in you, especially in keeping sensitive issues and communications private.

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