Problem Employees: Are Supervisors Responsible?

Think you are the actual reason why your staff member isn’t the solid performer that you believed that you hired?

Don’t misunderstand me. Your staff is ultimately responsible for their own performance. But there are moments where an employee may perhaps well be floundering due to your management approach. So, how do you know whether it’s your approach to management versus your employees skill set or attitude towards work is contributing to employee issues?

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Did you take the time to orient your employee to the workplace when you hired him or her?

2. Does your employee know your business goals and how his or her role fits into helping you achieve those goals?

3. Does your employee know what resources are available within the company to help them successfully complete the tasks that they are responsible for? Do they know where to go to get additional support or resources when needed?

4. Is there a current job description on file for your worker and does the employee have a copy of it? Did your employee have the opportunity to ask questions?

5. Do you pile on additional work to the point where your employee is always stressed and close to being burnt out?

6. Does your employee know what your personal business goals are?

7. Do you make your work expectations clear or have you left it up to your employee to second guess what direction you’d like for them to take with a task or project?

8. Are you sending your employees inconsistent messages that leave your staff unsure of your expectations?

If your answer is yes to even one of these questions, you may be helping to create a problem employee.

So, what should you do to turn things around? Think about:

*Training staff so that they understand the basics
*Writing up-to-date job descriptions for each role in the business that summarize the basic skills and requirements for the role
*Clearly communicating your expectations
*Make resources available to support your employees’ success
*Making yourself accessible to employee inquiries
*Promote career development opportunities

Nonetheless, as supervisor, it’s a management best practice to be reflective on how your management style may affect your employee’s overall performance. Are you the actual reason why your staff member isn’t the solid performer that you imagined that you recruited? Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes we fail to notice precisely.