For this assignment we were asked to be put
into a situation where we will need to use skills as a manager. For this
assignment I will anticipate the employees response, how I will approach the
situation, and analyze the techniques I will use to resolve the situation. The
following is the situation that we are told to analyze. “You are a department
manager in a mid-sized company that provides technology support services. You
have ten employees who are required to maintain a high level of technical
expertise and deliver excellent customer service. One of your employees, who
has been with the company for two years, is performing at a substandard level
and you have received numerous complaints from customers and coworkers. In
addition, this employee has displayed confrontational behavior, which has
created a hostile environment. You must now meet with this employee and deliver
an ultimatum regarding the need for immediate improvement or dismissal.”
The first step in the process of
dealing with this situation is figuring out how to approach the employee. If
you approach the employee with hostility then its most likely the employee will
reply with hostility. The best bet to approach the situation is to pull the
employee in your office away from the others. Sit them down and calmly start
the conversation. I would first ask if there was anything going on with them in
their personal or professional life. You cannot automatically judge a person
without hearing their side of the story first. “Understanding the perspective
of another person does not necessarily mean agreeing. It means only that you
make an effort to see the problem as the other defines it, without deciding on
the validity of the other person’s perspective.” (Cahn D.D., Abigail R.A.
2014).
Once I have affectively heard the
employee’s side of the story, I will then tell them what I have observed. I
will make note that the customer service has been lacking lately and there have
been complaints against them. Along with poor customer service there has also
been a lot of hostile attitude with other employee’s which makes for a
stressful work environment. Sometimes people do not realize what they are
doing. When someone has been in the same position and doing the same work for
so long they can become complacent. Almost taking advantage of the fact that
they have a steady job and thinking that they have job security. What an
employee must learn is that just because they have been at a job for a long
time does not mean that they still do not need to try. They must continue doing
the job they were hired to do and make sure that their customers are always
happy and taken care of.
When it comes to other employees
unfortunately not everyone will like one another. This employee however needs
to understand that this job needs to run with everyone getting along. When
people work well in a team atmosphere they can accomplish goals that are set
forth. When one unit of the team is not working to their full potential or
making a hostile work environment it can affect the whole team.
Once I have explained the problems
that I am seeing with the employee I can anticipate a couple of reactions that
they may have. The first reaction will probably be denial. Most likely they
will deny that they are having poor customer service and probably say that the
other employees are out to get them. The second reaction could possibly occur
is a hostile attitude and on the defensive. When someone feels threatened they
will put up their walls and immediately try to defend their actions. The third
and final reaction that could occur would be the employee being emotional. If
they feel that their job is being threatened they may become very emotionally
upset. When people become too emotional then they can become irrational.
The key to dealing with this
employee is to be prepared for anything. Be ready for any reaction that they
may give to the ultimatum that will be given to them. This situation could
potentially be very bad. It’s important to let the employee know that if they
change their customer service and attitude their job is safe and secure. There
are ways to help the employee overcome the obstacles that they are faced with.
One technique that I will use will be collaboration. “Collaboration means using
integrative behaviors and developing mutally satisfying agreements to solve the
problem once and for all.” (Cahnn D.D., & Abigail R.A. 2014). If I would use this then the employee
understands that we are both going to work together to make sure that they will
be on the right path. Collaboration has two essential steps. “First, it
consists of integrative behaviors such as cooperation, collective action, and
mutual assistance.” “Secondly, collaboration means that the partners have in
mind the same goal, which is to strive for a mutually satisfying solution to
the conflict.” (Cahnn D.D., & Abigail R.A. 2014).
Through the technique of using
collaboration the employee can feel like we are both going to work together to
make sure that we can work on their team work and customer service. When
dealing with conflict situations with employees, it’s important to be assertive
without being harsh. The employee needs to know that they have to change but
they are not alone. With work it can be accomplished and they can continue to be
an employee.
References:
Cahn
D.D. & Abigail R.A. (2014) Managing Conflict through Communication (5th
ed) Boston, MA: Pearson Education, INC
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