They are everywhere, whether freelance, part-time or full time, there are lazy employees all around us.
A good manager needs to know how to handle an employee who isn’t doing his job, by taking immediate action to resolve the situation.
Here are 10 Tips to Help You Deal with the Lazy Employee Situation
Have a Frank Discussion
Good managing starts with good communication. If you feel a talented employee is under performing, you need to confront them. Face the employee head on and communicate.
Be sure to express where you feel he fits into your organization; he may not understand how important he is until you tell him, let him know that he has to get on board.
Set Clear Goals
Does your lazy employee even know what’s expected of him? Create targets and make sure your workers understand that it’s important to the company they are reached.
Goals alleviate the cluelessness employees might use as an excuse to underperform.
Create a Rewards System
Yes, a job well done is its own reward, but you should also incentivize your employees to exceed the goals you’ve set out for them.
These rewards could be monetary in nature, but you could also offer more paid vacation or even the opportunity to work from home occasionally.
A reward system motivates people to be better.
Heap on More Responsibility
There’s a pretty good chance that your lazy employee is simply bored and could use more responsibility. You’ll want to carefully assess where your worker’s talents best fit. Access and take urgent action.
Boredom often leads to laziness, that is why you should create more responsibility to bring out the best in people.
Conduct an Internal Audit
The problem you’re noticing may not be completely isolated to just one employee. Put together an anonymous employee survey to see what is and isn’t working in your office.
This could include subjects including work hours, employee interaction and the office environment in general.
This will help you to better understand how your employees view their work load and their work hours.
Offer More Training
Helping your employees develop new skills lets them know you are committed to their success. Even offering refresher courses on their job can refocus them on the task at hand.
Develop Opportunities for Advancement
Few things can breed malaise in a worker like the thought of being stuck in a go-nowhere job. Just knowing that a promotion is possible can help motivate workers. Periodically adding new job duties could also give them a sense of making a growing contribution and they also have something to work towards.
Offer Them a Change of Scenery
Depending on the duties it entails, doing the same job day in and day out can leave a worker numb. It can also cause them to lose sight of the bigger picture. Consider a job-rotation program, which allows workers to see how the other half lives and how everyone contributes to the company’s goals.
Consider Non-job Factors
As hard as it may be to believe, your employees have lives outside of the office. A sick relative or other hardship might be draining your worker’s enthusiasm and energy. Some time off to get their house in order could do wonders.
Figure Out What Interests Them
Hopefully your employee isn’t lazy when it comes to every aspect of her job. Take the time to figure out what excites her. Perhaps she does best when working with a group or excels when involved with strategy.
Figure out what interests them and take full advantage. Bring out the best in your employee.
Culled from www.inc.com