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A team member isn't being productive, always skip work, always fight with co-workers, and never finish work on time, what are the measures you take?

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Question added by Ahmad Alhusainy , consulting , Self-employed
Date Posted: 2016/02/22

First: start with a personal one on one meeting and discuss said negativity without hostility. 

Second: take a proper punishment such as deduction in monthly salary or warning.

If said employee is still not cooperating, file for termination with one month notice to avoid lawsuits.  

Khalid Ghaffar
by Khalid Ghaffar , Consultant for Business Development , Waters Corporation USA

Dear Mr. Ahmed: Very good question as it leads to talk about leadership.

The 1st thing is to review the engagement level between the employee, its peers and supervisor.  WE need to identify a reason that why the healthy engagement is not there. We need to check as well that is it due to absence of economic incentive plan which is not reaching to the employee.

2nd point need to capability, qualification of such employee verses the expectation.

3rd point is the motivation plan for the employee.

Usually once we have this information we can have a tactical move in order to find a decision that what to do to spin in the employee

 

ASSALAMU'ALAIKUM.

Hi, It completely depends upon your designation as a friend you can have a word with them but if you try to drill them a lot then you both will end up fighting so the best thing is escalating the issue to the seniors and let them handle it and if you happen to be a senior member or team leader or from the top level management then give them the warning depending up on how serious the issue is. 

The first thing you can try doing is have a word with your team member and try knowing the reason behind his such behavior because sometimes even the most productive team mates on the floor need some encouragement or advise.

If the first thing does not work then let the Team leader drill him/her because in most of the cases the team mates come on track after being warned or insulted or confronted by their seniors.

Even if this does not work then some serious actions can be taken after giving a memo. In this case Memo is nothing  but s simple note to notify them what actions would be taken if they continue behaving in such way for e.g suspending or terminating the employee after being warned for x no. of times.

I hope this answers your question.

Vinod Jetley
by Vinod Jetley , Assistant General Manager , State Bank of India

1. Poor Prioritization

“I didn’t think that was a priority.”

Priorities are a common misunderstanding amongst teams. This can stem from miscommunications right when tasks are assigned, or incorrect assumptions about the importance of a task. These mistakes can affect the trajectory of the entire project if they’re not addressed right away. Even when a task is assigned and flagged via email, it can be difficult to know what should happen next.

Instead of driving yourself mad tracking down which email was sent to whom and when, consider changing your work processes. There are several task management platforms, like Wrike, that allow you to prioritize (and reprioritize) a task list to tell your team what they need to complete first. Throughout the project life span, you and your team can go in and see what tasks need to be completed ASAP, and assign due dates and available team members accordingly. Some tools have dependency features, so you can make any task dependencies clearly visible for your team and they’ll know what needs to get done first.

2. Undefined Team Roles

“I wasn’t sure who to ask.”

Clearly defined roles within a team are extremely crucial for both project success and team growth. This response may come up a lot in a team where responsibilities are not explicit. Questions are ignored, forgotten, and, at times, presented to the wrong person — who then gives an incorrect answer. Undefined roles can also lead to team members taking on tasks that don’t fit their expertise. This problem sets the team, and project, up for failure.

One of the most important roles to define is the team leader. Whether that person is yourself, a colleague, or multiple people, your team needs to know whom they can turn to for  questions, progress updates, and changes to the current plan. Defining this role gives your team a solid foundation and direction.

3. Accountability Issues

“I wasn’t aware that was my responsibility.” 

Tasks are assigned during meetings all the time. Even followed up on through email. Yet this excuse continues to be popular when tasks aren’t completed. It may not have been clear who exactly was responsible for the task in the first place. Someone could have missed a meeting, skipped an email, or simply forgotten, and without a proper project tracking tool, there was no way for either of you to know the task was sitting in limbo.

Scott Blanchard, co-founder of Blanchard Certified, also finds that accountability problems stem from alignment problems with the overall goal of the project. If you don’t share the overall project plan, your team members may have trouble seeing the purpose of their task and its importance to the overall project — so they don’t hold themselves accountable for quality work.

Tools that allow you to clearly assign individuals to tasks as part of larger projects will help eliminate accountability errors. In most project management tools, a team member will be notified once they are assigned to a task, so there is no confusion on what needs to get done and who needs to do it.  One of our well-known customers, Redfoo, uses Wrike to help manage his brand and both of his companies, Party Rock Records and LaFreak Clothing. Before Wrike, Redfoo and his team were struggling with accountability. Now, they open up Wrike during meetings to assign task owners as they’re discussed, in a tool where everyone can see the new responsibilities.

“It’s really hard in a company like ours, where we’re all creative people, and we’re trusted by our boss to accomplish tasks on our own,” says Charlie Pearl, Brand and Social Media Coordinator at LaFreak. “Wrike creates a timeline and makes it clear who’s assigned to what, so that there is no confusion.”

4. Inability to Resolve Conflict

“I find it really hard to work with her.”

Team members don’t always have to be friends, and sometimes they won’t be. But workplace drama is not a good excuse to miss a deadline or perform poorly on a collaborative project. As a team leader, it’s important to know that most damaging problems don’t necessarily occur when a conflict arises, but when it’s ignored. According to a study on team conflict resolution, a whopping 95% of the workforce struggles to speak up when problems arise. This may also lead to bigger issues, like wasting time ruminating over the issue, or permanently damaging employee relationships.

When resolving conflicts, the best advice is to nip it in the bud. It may not be easy to confess to a mistake, or to talk to a team member about their error, but it’s important to fix problems immediately before they get worse. Avoid pointing fingers and placing blame. Accidents happen, so it’s important to remind yourself and your team members that you have a common goal, and that your intention is to address the conflict ASAP so everyone can get back to achieving that goal.

5. Lack of Vision

“I really just don’t see the point.”

One of the most crippling reasons that teams don’t get work done is a lack of shared vision. A negative outlook may not only affect one person, but your whole team. If the ultimate goal is not clear to the whole team, then every team member will view a project’s importance, urgency, and crucial steps differently. This can lead to divisions within the team, and may  waste time as you figure out how to accomplish tasks. It can also damage productivity due to lack of motivation or enthusiasm for the project as a direct result of not seeing the same vision.

One way to avoid this is by writing out clear, tangible goals before any work begins. This way, the team can start on the same page, and the important goals can be referenced when disputes arise. They also make team members feel like their role is crucial to the success of the project, because they can clearly link back their tasks to the vision. When each team member has a purpose, they are more likely to get the job done and do it well.

Mohammed Gamal Nasser Al-Humaikani
by Mohammed Gamal Nasser Al-Humaikani , Secretary , BrainStromin

I think it is really important to try to understand the reasons behind such a negative attitude. You might be trying to find a problem within the environment at work, but maybe what causes this tensed frustration within him is not at work and he just displaces his anger at work.If you are able to be friendly with him and try to understand the reasons from him directly, then that would make the best path for you to correct matters. 

People with such negative attitudes take some time to respond unless you use the motivation/incentive power you have. You either threat him of losing some advantages if that is continued, or you motivate him that he will get extra advantages if he collaborates and works effectively. 

Other than that, the points provided by  عبدالرحمن zughaibi are great. 

Omar Saad Ibrahem Alhamadani
by Omar Saad Ibrahem Alhamadani , Snr. HR & Finance Officer , Sarri Zawetta Company

Thanks,

Always we have to take step before last step ,if i his team leader i will meet him alone and asking him what is wrong with , and what happens ? may be there is something bather him .

Through one of my jobs i faced this kind of employees , when i asked him i discovered that other team members bothering him and trying to isolated him out from their team , based on that i solve this problem

BUT, if he is troubles maker and he insist to ignoring orders and does not following the internal policy , then he should be warned or punished until he return to path , Or dismissing him because he will affect on other employees.

Sidrah Nadeem
by Sidrah Nadeem , Global Marketing Manager , Hill+Knowlton Strategies

  1. Have a one on one meeting and see if it works
  2. Understand if anyone from his team can coach and form a PDP group
  3. Warn of the consequences if he/she doesn't show signs of improvement

Ahmed Mohamed Ayesh Sarkhi
by Ahmed Mohamed Ayesh Sarkhi , Shared Services Supervisor , Saudi Musheera Co. Ltd.

set with him and disuse may be he have task more than his power

 

Have a personal talk with this person, sometimes people live in worse situations while we don't know. Talking to a co-worker helps a lot in relieving inside stress, especially if you handle this private information with care :)

Ahmad Alhusainy
by Ahmad Alhusainy , consulting , Self-employed

simply transfer him to another department, I seen that works wonders for even how they change their behavior for better.

 

 

Emad Mohammed said abdalla
by Emad Mohammed said abdalla , ERP & IT Software, operation general manager . , AL DOHA Company

I fully agree with the answers been added by EXPERTS...............Thanks.

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