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SIX STEP BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT
Often you will find that
people whose volume or quality of
performance is satisfactory, or even
high, nevertheless behave in a way which
is unacceptable for the morale of the
team or the standards of the
organisation.
Classic examples of this
are:
The great
salesman who is rude to the office
staff.
Colleagues
having a personality clash.
The employee
with personal hygiene problems.
The abrasive
employee.
The technical
genius with poor timekeeping.
The list could be
endless.
There are some behaviour
traits which although you might find
them irritating do not have a great
impact on the achievement of your team’s
objectives. Think carefully before you
start this process. Behaviour is often
based on emotional issues, which can be
quite uncomfortable to handle. If the
behaviour only creates a problem for
your comfort, you may decide that you
will have to live with it. On the other
hand, if the behaviour is causing a work
problem then you will have to manage it,
The steps for tackling
the problem are the same as for
Performance Management. However, there
is a greater likelihood that the reasons
for the behaviour are more complicated
and deep-seated.
You must allow an
opportunity for the employee to give
reasons for their behaviour, but not to
use it as a justification. You may also
need to offer the employee the
opportunity for professional help to
resolve a background problem.
Always keep in mind that
once you have decided the behaviour is
unacceptable, you must follow the
process through until it is remedied.
One thing that you must
bear in mind about unacceptable
behaviour is that it is often triggered
by emotional or personal problems.
You may find that people
reveal significant personal issues, so
be prepared for emotion. Alternatively,
some people will produce a spurious
explanation so as to avoid revealing
personal problems. Your role as a
manager is to resolve the problem only
insofar as it is impinging on their
work. You are not a psychologist,
doctor, social worker or financial
adviser, and it is dangerous to offer
amateur advice in these areas.
1. Describe specifically
the problem (documented evidence, not
feelings).
2. Explain the reason(s)
the problem concerns you.
3. Probe for causes and
information. Listen and empathise. Note
answers. Summarise to check completeness
and understanding.
4. Explain that the
situation must change. Ask for and
record ideas
5. Discuss each idea and
express your support.
6. Decide and note
specific actions. Set timings and follow
up date.
1. Describe specifically
the problem (documented evidence, not
feelings).
People tend not to accept
that their behaviour is causing a
problem unless you can provide evidence.
Compare:
“I am worried about how
you talk to your colleagues.”
As opposed to:
“In the last week I have
had two complaints from staff that you
were rude to them when they asked you
for information about the database
operation. Your actual words were...”.
“Your timekeeping is
deteriorating.”
As opposed to
“In the last fortnight
you have been at work by 9.00 on two
days. On the other days you have arrived
between 9.15 and 9.30.”
Even when given the
evidence they will want to respond
defensively, to deny or justify their
behaviour. They will have an opportunity
to do this later, so it is important
that, as the manager, you stay in
control of Steps 1 and 2 by doing all
the talking.
Having stated the
evidence, move straight to Step 2.
2. Explain the reason(s)
the problem concerns you.
This is quite a powerful
move because it confirms to the other
person that, even though they make think
that the issue is trivial, you are
taking it seriously. It also gains its
power from the fact that most employees
do not want to be perceived as causing
problems for their manager. Whether this
is out of respect for the manager, or
simply because of their career
aspirations, the personalisation of the
problem makes them more disposed to
resolve it.
So, use phrases like:
“This causes me a problem
because if they can’t get the
information they need it slows down
their work. It also slows me down
because they come to me for the
information instead.”
“If the full team isn’t
here by 9.00 it is noticed by the
customers, and other staff start to
think it’s ok to be late.”
3. Probe for causes and
information. Listen and empathise. Note
answers. Summarise to check completeness
and understanding.
Up to this point you have
simply stated that there is a problem.
Now you give the person an opportunity
to explain the problem from their point
of view.
Sometimes you will obtain
further information which may cause you
to redefine the problem.
Sometimes you will get
total denial, or blaming of everybody
else, including yourself.
Sometimes you will get
“causes” stated which you know or
suspect to be untrue.
Mostly, though, you will
get a small part of the story, and you
will need all your probing skills to
follow up on the clues.
“Yes, I told Ralph to go
away because that was the fifth time
he’d asked me a question which he could
have looked up in the manual”.
“Ok, I know Ralph can be
slow and I see you find that irritating.
What was the question he asked? What was
the reason you shouted at Sam?
The use of empathy is
important. It acknowledges the other
person’s feelings in a satisfactory way,
without allowing them to slow down or
divert the problem-solving exercise.
Continue probing,
listening, empathising and note-taking
until you have a coherent explanation,
and then summarise it back to the person.
“So, you are saying that
it is only Ralph and Sam that you have
had a problem with. Your problem with
Ralph is that he interrupts you when you
are trying to concentrate, and the
problem with Sam was that he had used
your coffee mug and not washed it.”
“So, you’ve been having a
series of problems with your car in the
cold weather, and as a result you
arrived at the station later than usual,
had difficulty parking, and missed the
fast train.”
4. Explain that the
situation must change. Ask for and
record ideas.
The fact that you have
listened to and empathised with the
person’s problems or reasons for acting
as they do, does not mean that you
accept them as excuses or justification.
You would not have
started on this process if the behaviour
was acceptable; therefore it has to
change.
If the person is
accountable for assisting others then
this is part of their job. They are paid
to do all of their job.
Similarly, if no
flexitime arrangement exists, the start
time is not optional.
This is a good point at
which to emphasise the person’s
accountability by focussing their
attention on their own actions.
“I do need all staff to
feel that they can refer technical
questions to you as you are the expert
(self-esteem), so what ideas do you have
for including Ralph and Sam?”
“Well, I do need you to
arrive by 9.00. So have you any ideas
about how you can ensure that his
happens?”
You might by now be
feeling that the simplest solution is
just to tell them what you want, and
terminate the interaction. Bear with it
because they are far more likely to
implement a change which they suggest
rather than one which is a straight
order.
As with previous
processes, it pays to elicit a full set
of ideas before discussing any of them.
Use encouraging phrases
such as:
“OK, I’ve noted that. Do
you have some other ideas?”
Quite often you will be
given suggestions seeking to make the
problem into your problem:
“Well, it would help if
you could tell people only to interrupt
me after they have checked the manual.”
Note it and move on.
5. Discuss each idea and
express your support.
You can, of course, be
selective about which ideas you discuss.
Wherever possible, focus on those ideas
which give the person full
accountability for implementing them.
“Yes, I agree it would be
a good idea to brief Ralph about the
problems he could resolve by using the
manual. I’ll make sure he’s available at
a time to suit you both.”
“I think you’re right. It
sounds like your car needs a
professional service. If you need to
take a day off I can arrange that.”
It does not matter
whether the real causes of the problem
have actually been discussed, and it
does not matter whether real solutions
have been proposed.
The important thing is
that you have brought the work problem
to their attention, and they are now
aware that they need to do something
about it.
Once you have their
commitment to take an action, which they
say will solve the problem, you have
something which you can manage.
6. Decide and note
specific actions. Set timings and follow
up date.
By this stage you have:
1. Made it clear that
there is a problem which must be
tackled.
2. Obtained an
explanation.
3. Discussed solutions
Now you can bring the
discussion to a conclusion.
“What I’d like you to do
is have your meeting with Ralph by the
end of the week, and work out a protocol
and an availability schedule. Will you
do that? You and I can have a brief
session at 2.00 on Tuesday and you can
let me know how you got on.”
“So, you are going to
call this afternoon to book your car in
for a service,” (Please note that you
can only say this if the person has
already suggested it. You can’t dictate
what the person does in their life
outside work), “ and if you need time
off you will book a day’s holiday and
let me know.”
Because at this point you
have no guarantee that the proposed
action will cure the behaviour problem,
you need to set a follow up date at
which you will either take further
action if there have been more
instances, or you will reinforce the
changed behaviour with a praise
session.
Whatever misgivings you
may have, it is important not to convey
these feelings to the other person.
Compare:
“OK, so you think this
will solve the problem. I have my
doubts, so I want to see you in a
fortnight to check.”
As opposed to:
“Thanks for coming, and
I’m confident that the actions you are
going to take will sort out the problem.
Come and see me in a fortnight to give
me an update.”
The positive approach
will maximise the chances of the problem
being resolved. The negative approach
reduces your likelihood of success, and
will count against you if this problem
gets to an Industrial Tribunal
Exercise 1:
Imagine that you have had
complaints from your staff about an
employee who has recently become very
bad tempered. Consider the steps and the
phrases you would use. How would you
handle the revelation that the employee
was having money problems or that their
cat had just died (this really
happened)?
Exercise 2 (a tricky
one):
One of your staff who is
excellent at their job likes to amuse
colleagues by telling jokes. Usually
this keeps morale and productivity high.
However, some of the jokes are on the
borderline of being offensive to
minorities. Would you consider this to
be a problem? Think about your
accountability. What kind of account
would you be able to give if someone
complained to your manager?
Exercise 3 (even
trickier):
A member of your staff is
a heavy smoker and is away from their
desk at least 15 minutes out of every
hour. They are busy and efficient the
rest of the time, but other staff have
started to express resentment. |
