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Advice Required Re Staff Motivation
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bluetownbarry
Posts: 142 Forumite
I'm looking for guidance on a situation that I'm in the process of dealing with.
I'm a manager for a large company. My team comprises of 22 people. Although the job doesn't require any formal qualifications, it is very specific to our industry (there is a lot of training provided).
My problem concerns our latest new recruit.
To give you some background, this is this persons first job from leaving school. They have a very laid back personality with no real grasp of responsibility or consequences of actions.
The difficulty is that the main part of their responsibilities means that they are not directly supervised (the job requires working at many locations throughout the week).
So far, there has been problems with standards of appearance & inconsistency in productivity - some of this has manifested itself in putting work off as they perceive it to be not important, then forgetting to do it.
Now that's (some) of the worst this is balanced against when they are supervised, they work very well indeed. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the work involved, this is rarely possible.
I am fully aware of all the HR tools available to me and some of these have already been used. It's got to the stage that I think I will need to arrange a meeting & set expected objectives to be aceived within an agreed timescale (probably 4 weeks). The upshot is if I go down this route, there is a real risk that if they carry on as before, then the only option is to terminate his contract.
The advice I am looking for, how would you go about motivating someone with this type of personality? I really like this person, and if the option was available I would probably transfer them to a lesser role & one that was supervised (where previously they have perfomed well in this kind of environment).
I've eliminated all the usual possibilities - ie further training etc. My assesment of the situation boils down to (in my opinion) a lack of maturity on behalf of the employee.
Any advice would be appreciated, thanks
I'm a manager for a large company. My team comprises of 22 people. Although the job doesn't require any formal qualifications, it is very specific to our industry (there is a lot of training provided).
My problem concerns our latest new recruit.
To give you some background, this is this persons first job from leaving school. They have a very laid back personality with no real grasp of responsibility or consequences of actions.
The difficulty is that the main part of their responsibilities means that they are not directly supervised (the job requires working at many locations throughout the week).
So far, there has been problems with standards of appearance & inconsistency in productivity - some of this has manifested itself in putting work off as they perceive it to be not important, then forgetting to do it.
Now that's (some) of the worst this is balanced against when they are supervised, they work very well indeed. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the work involved, this is rarely possible.
I am fully aware of all the HR tools available to me and some of these have already been used. It's got to the stage that I think I will need to arrange a meeting & set expected objectives to be aceived within an agreed timescale (probably 4 weeks). The upshot is if I go down this route, there is a real risk that if they carry on as before, then the only option is to terminate his contract.
The advice I am looking for, how would you go about motivating someone with this type of personality? I really like this person, and if the option was available I would probably transfer them to a lesser role & one that was supervised (where previously they have perfomed well in this kind of environment).
I've eliminated all the usual possibilities - ie further training etc. My assesment of the situation boils down to (in my opinion) a lack of maturity on behalf of the employee.
Any advice would be appreciated, thanks
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Comments
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Final warning and if that does not work, employ somebody that actually wants to do the job.......?0
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peanuts and monkeys and question yourself?0
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Supervision does not need to be hands on/same location.
Depending on how the tasks are generated task management can be supervised remotely.
Who decides where they are to work and what needs doing
Daily targets/reports, if things improve move to weekly.
If appearence is a problem then address that with a meeting or just turning up and doing spot checks where they are working.0 -
I think the meeting is essential and it might well be the kick up the bum they need. Try what is called the 's**t sandwich' technique - it works really well. Something good, something bad, something good.
So talk about how well they do under supervision and that you feel they can really be successful in this job. Then ask them how they find things when they aren't being supervised? Do they find it difficult to maintain the same standards? Point out your concerns. What do they think they can do about that? Agree acceptable behaviour and targets with them to review in a month's time. Then back to something nice- that you enjoy working with them and want them to remain part of your team.Cash not ash from January 2nd 2011: £2565.:j
OU student: A103 , A215 , A316 all done. Currently A230 all leading to an English Literature degree.
Any advice given is as an individual, not as a representative of my firm.0 -
Sounds like the guy needs to be given a sense of responsibility, close monitoring could well have the opposite effect and simply make him rebel.
Treat him as if he's his own supervisor, do not let good work go unnoticed and remember that 95% of people genuinely want to do a good job......“I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an a** of yourself.”
<><><><><><><><><<><><><><><><><><><><><><> Don't forget to like and subscribe \/ \/ \/0 -
I find with school leavers you spend most of your time simply teaching them about the world of work. Lay it on the line with him so he understands he is endangering his job, that you'd be sorry to let him go but he will force you down that route. Being nice will not motivate him in the areas that are causing you concern - at the end of the day he works remotely so he has to motivate himself, and so he may not be suitable for remote management, sad but true.0
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I think you have to tell it to him straight. You are prepared to give 4 weeks for him to develop and improve, but without that, these are the consequences...etc.
However, if you think he could be good, perhaps this is the kick up the bum he needs. You can also have a direct career conversation with him. Ask him what motivates him about his work. Ask him why he does less when unsupervised. Don't try and solve the problem in the absence of knowledge - ask him what *he* thinks he needs to do differently to improve, and make that part of his 4 week plan. Get him to come up with the objectives (with your guidance). Get him to explain why he does what he does, and tell him that you think he's great, but isn't delivering in unsupervised circumstances.
If the things that motivate him are completely incompatible with his work, then at least you know. But hopefully asking him to come up with the solution and offering his own opinions will get him engaged with the idea that he has to improve.
By all means talk about job suitability - but be very very careful that you don't suggest he leave the organisation!
HTH
KiKi' <-- See that? It's called an apostrophe. It does not mean "hey, look out, here comes an S".0 -
bluetownbarry wrote: »So far, there has been problems with standards of appearance & inconsistency in productivity - some of this has manifested itself in putting work off as they perceive it to be not important, then forgetting to do it.
Are you this guys line manager? His boss's boss?
Ultimately, I would use feedback to deal with these issues - and I would suggest you google for manager tools feedback to discover the Manger Tools feedback model for yourself, it's simply awesome. It's a simple, non-confrontational method of getting your message across.
I would also forget the "HR Toolbox". Get to know this guy, spend time with him, let him know the expectations, let him know when he does a good job. And remember, true Feedback represents good and bad things that have happened.0 -
You can 'Patter' them and give them all the training under the moon, And you might like the person, But if they are not 'Delivering' within a certain saet timescale then they may have to get their coat?
You will have time constraints etc, So further steps & resources will hold everything up.
Set of as you mean to go along with them.
Be honest and straight with them.Thomson 757 Man0 -
some of this has manifested itself in putting work off as they perceive it to be not important, then forgetting to do it
This is the key
Make it clearer what are the important tasks/priorities, some people think they know better but that often only comes with experience.
There needs to be a feedback loop that keep these thing on the list of jobs, maybe some simple time management would help if some of these are repetative(boring) tasks.
The companies I have worked for have implimented daily/weekly reporting at an individual/team/group level and these are public to other groups so everyone know what is going on, where there are issues and when stuff will be delivered.0
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