CSIN: Case Study Investigative Network

“You are a department manager in a mid-sized company that provides technology support services. You have ten employees who are required to maintain a high level of technical expertise and deliver excellent customer service. One of your employees, who has been with the company for two years, is performing at a substandard level and you have received numerous complaints from customers and coworkers. In addition, this employee has displayed confrontational behavior, which has created a hostile environment. You must now meet with this employee and deliver an ultimatum regarding the need for immediate improvement or dismissal.”

            When meeting with the employee, it is important to go into the meeting in an attempt to salvage the working relationship with this employee, improve their behavior, and work on their job performance. It is apparent that a meeting is necessary, as complaints are coming in from not only coworkers, but also customers. We may also need to discuss with the employee any personal issues they may be having, as issues happening outside of the workplace can result in unsatisfactory work and poor, unprofessional conduct.

            In the meeting, you want to make sure that the employee knows that this is not an attack or ambush, but instead a conflict resolution. Never use verbal aggression in “the form of character attacks, insults, ridicule, profanity, and threats” (Cahn & Abigail, 2007, p.63). No names of those complaining about the employee need to be mentioned as the names are irrelevant to the situation, but instead bringing the complaints upfront, keeping even the complaints as general as possible, so that the employee does not pinpoint who the complaint stemmed from. The meeting should start with the employee sitting directly across from you and as the superior, it is important to maintain a level of professionalism, yet sternness when addressing the complaints. You explain that the complaints have resulted in negative feedback from the customers, which as a mid-sized company, can mean the world as the company needs to retain every customer they have. You explain that his recent behavior has caused a disruption of work in the department, thus causing the work of other employees to become unsatisfactory.

Then asking the employee if they are having any personal issues outside of work that might be causing this type of behavior gives the employee the feeling that you are concerned with them, and not just their job performance. If the employee states that they are having personal issues outside of work, it is important to show a level of empathy with sincerity, but also explain to the employee that it is disruptive to bring this type of emotion into the workplace. Offering any type of employee assistance programs, such as EI (Emotional Intelligence) workshops or employee-based counseling services will also show the employee how serious this has become while maintaining the level of empathy the employee may need.

If the employee insists that there are no personal issues outside of work that are causing their unprofessional and unethical conduct, it is important to take the meeting to the next level and provide the employee with a fair ultimatum to improve both his conduct toward the customers and his coworkers, as well as their overall job performance. Provide them with KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) that are reasonable, yet forceful, so the employee knows that you are serious. Explain the importance of meeting these KPI’s and that you will meet with them in a few weeks to discuss the results.

While sometimes it may feel best to avoid conflict altogether, you are doing nothing but enabling the behavior to continue. Sometimes the person that there is conflict with may not even know that such conflict exists. When there is the initial conflict, you should discuss the violation with the person the conflict involves resolving the issue firsthand. When doing so, approach them in a manner that does not reflect negatively on your character. Your goal is not to create further conflict, but instead create a more positive work environment for your subordinates, a more pleasant service experience for your customers, and an employee that does not create conflict and does better than substandard work.

            References

Cahn, D. & Abigail, R. (2007). Managing conflict through communication. (3^rd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education Inc.