How to Deal With a Problem Employee

Have you ever heard a conversation like this?

"Last night, we were all here past midnight trying to ship the last features for our demo. At 5:01 p.m., on-the-dot, Ryan packed his backpack, said goodbye to everyone with a smile and walked out. We were all looking around at each other like, 'Who does this guy think he is?'!"

"Yeah, and that's like the fifth time this has happened. This is unacceptable. I should have fired him a long time ago."

Should they be fired? 

Firing employees is very expensive. Ryan's abrupt departure will scare other employees who have no reason to be scared. The firing will force them to comb through his work for weeks figuring out what he was doing and picking up the slack. It will force you (or HR) to quickly throw together a position description to start shopping resumes—rushing the process of replacing him, and likely bringing in someone who won't make the same mistakes, but will make different mistakes that end up being just as annoying. 

Let's mention the guilt you'll feel for Ryan. Mike Evans, the founder of GrubHub told me that he personally hired the first 600 employees. We are often told we should get good at "firing fast." But, Mike said, getting good at "firing fast" means we need to get better at being a ruthless, heartless, axe-murder of the people we are supposed to care about most—our employees. He said that sounds like terrible advice when you really think about it. No matter how much you dislike Ryan, you are going to throw his life into disarray, he will be depressed, he might miss payments, and lose his home. He is going to be hurt very deeply for a long time. If you care at all about your employees and feel any empathy, this is going to hurt you too.

So maybe you shouldn't fire Ryan.

Except—having just one bad employee can destroy the culture of an entire team. It can compel your best employees to jump ship because they can't stand working with him. His mistakes could be a red flag to a major client or an investor who decides not to do business with you.

So what do you do?

Tough decisions are much easier if you have a plan. You don't have to follow the plan the exact same way every single time, but having a plan as a baseline for where to start relieves a lot of stress in these unfortunate situations.

Step 0: Is it a Crime?

Call the Police.

Are they selling ten-thousand-dollar tools from the rapid prototyping shop on eBay? That's a felony. There is only one step you should take: call the police. Don't feel bad for them. Don't give them a warning. Just do what has to be done—immediately and without remorse.

Step 1: Ignore The Problem

Be Patient.

They were late for a meeting, or they wore inappropriate clothing to a client demo, or they made a snide remark that caused everyone in the room to roll their eyes, or they left at 5:01 p.m. on a night everyone else stayed late.

These are not crimes. They need to be addressed, but not right this second, not in front of everyone else. Maybe they know better and are just having an off day. You don't want to add "getting chewed out by the boss in front of everyone" to the list of awful things that happens to them today. Be patient, take notice of the offense, remember it. Write it in your "off-record" personnel file on them so you don't forget the date and time of the incident, but don't bring it up. Just wait and see if it happens again.

Step 2: Drop a Hint

Save face.

It happens again. Now it's a pattern and you need to address it. Alert them to their mistake carefully and gracefully. Drop a hint, in an environment where no one else will hear. Let them save face. You don't want to embarrass them. 

Step 3: The Talk

Now it's time for management.

It happens again. They didn't take the hint. Now, you need to have a "the talk" with them. Save it for your next regularly scheduled 1-on-1 meeting. There is nothing more awkward than the boss walking up and saying "We need to talk." This is one reason you need regularly-scheduled 1-on-1 meetings. They are the perfect venue for tough conversations, and because you read my article and usually talk about their job, their career, and their life, it will be a safe place where you have built up trust.

"Do you remember on Thursday when you left at 5:01 p.m.?"

"Yes"

"Do you realize everyone else worked until after midnight? Did you know that makes other people think you are lazy and don't care about them?"

FULL STOP.

Don't say another word. They are going to explode with words. Excuses, stories about emergencies, whatever. Listen carefully, take notes, nod your head, and wait until they are done. Let them talk it out. If you interrupt they won't listen to a word you say—they will only be waiting for their turn to speak. You have to let them talk it out.

Once they are done, say this, "I totally understand. I know you didn't mean for it to be taken that way. I'm on your side. You see other people aren't going to take the time to understand that. And unfortunately, it's your responsibility to manage what other people think of you. I used to make the same mistakes, and I've learned this is just one of those things you have to do in order to get along in the workplace."

You see what you're doing here? Instead of forcing them to change through authority, testing the strength of your will against theirs, you are aligning your will alongside theirs. You are guiding them as a mentor, not as a boss. You are still the boss. They know it, you know it, but you don't say it. It is understood but not said. You had the power to hit them head on, but you chose not to, and that means the world to them. Also, notice how the word "but" isn't used once in that whole paragraph. "But" is a very powerful word that invalidates every positive phrase that comes before it. If you don't use the word "but" the positive will stick deep in their psyche along with the negative.

Now give them Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely goals. Don't say, "You need to do better." or "You have to stop acting like an asshole." These are impossible orders to follow. Instead, stick to the precise mistake and be specific with the action you expect. "From now on, if you are not the last person to leave, I need you to go around to each team member one-by-one and ask them if there is anything they're working on that you can help with before leaving. If they all say, 'No,' then you can leave. Do you understand?"

"Yes"

"Ok, tell me what you're going to do the next time you are ready to leave and other people are still here."

Make sure they say it back to you. They'll miss all kinds of important details the first time. They are getting reprimanded by their boss and are trying to learn something new at the same time. It's hard for them—be patient.

Then, when you think they've got it, tell them this: "I know behavior doesn't change overnight. You may understand right now what you need to do, but next week you might make the same mistake again. If that happens, I need you to come to me right away as soon as you realize you've made the mistake again and tell me you've made the mistake again. If you don't tell me, I won't know that you're learning. I can't see what you're thinking. I can only see your actions. Do you understand?"

This forms a brutally painful self-disciplined negative feedback loop. If they make the mistake again they have to track you down and tell you. It hurts their pride like crazy and they are going to try very hard not to let it happen again.

Step 4: HR Paperwork

Get it in writing.

If they do it again, and they don't come to you, now it is time to get it all in writing with their signature. Write down the date and time of the first incident. Write that you let it slide. Write about the second incident. Write that you politely warned them. Write about the third incident. Write that you had a crystal clear conversation with them about what needed to change and you asked them to parrot back to you precisely what they needed to do. Write about the fourth incident.

Then write in the last paragraph that they understand if this happens again they will be fired. Make them read it in your office and sign it. Have another supervisor or HR professional present to sign it as a witness. You sign it too.

Step 5: You're Fired

The end.

If it happens a fifth time, you know what to do. They will know why they were fired. No one will be sued. You won't feel one ounce of guilt.

The Wrong Way

Now that you've seen my process, think back to the last time you saw an employee fired. What happened? Probably something like this:

• Step 1: Ignore the problem
• Step 2: Ignore the problem
• Step 3: Ignore the problem
• Step 4: Complain about problem employee to other managers
• Step 5: Complain about problem employee to other managers
• Step 6: Lose temper and chew out employee in front of others
• Step 7: Complain about problem employee to other managers
• Step 8: Fire employee

Everyone has a process. My process doesn't have to be slow. You can do Steps 1–5 in just five days back-to-back and be rid of the problem employee guilt-free in a week.

It is far less expensive to try to mentor an employee into being a better person than it is to keep having to source, interview, train, and fire people in a vicious cycle. In my experience, the vast majority never need to go past Step 3. They want to keep their job and are thrilled that their manager is taking the time to give them honest feedback. What's more, the good employees will see what you're doing (somehow everyone always finds out, right?).

They will respect you so much they might even follow you to your next company.

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