DISCUSSIONS

Started a new job 3 months ago.

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Anonymous

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Started a new job 3 months ago. Boss and company is great. Managing a team of unprofessionals. They have been aggressive with me and I have had to document an employee. Employee has gone to hr complaining about me. I was warned they were difficult in the interview but now I am worried. Not sure if I should job hunt.

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  1. Anonymous

    CYA , Im going to keep repeating this until you ladies start to catch on!

    Are you documenting EVERY single encounter with this difficult employee? or any of them for that matter? Email or text whenever you can so that when they reply you have even better proof of how difficult they are. When giving them direction in person do you have an advocate/witness there? Be assertive and direct when needed but in a professional way. Always treat the difficult employee the same way as the other members on your team...consistency is important. As well as communication and document document document! When assigning task are you keeping track of which task each team member is on and their progress? are they meeting team goals? When I say document everything I mean it. Did they make a snide comment during a team meeting? WRITE IT DOWN! When HR comes to you with what this EE has said about you, you will have documentation of them being difficult. And/or an advocate/witness to speak your professionalism when dealing with said difficult employee. Im done. Just CYA.

  2. Anonymous

    Yes!!!! I don't know how many times I've had people scoff and say to me "I don't have time to document literally everything, that would take forever!" And I think well good luck to you then because we mean every interaction. And if you do it in near real time while its fresh and on your mind, it doesn't actually take that long, it becomes part of your management process. Keep in mind documenting a routine interaction can just be something like "weekly 1:1, discussed workload, no significant issues, reminded employee to escalate if X happens" or on the good side "employee performing well, no issues, great work on Y," which also helps out with annual reviews. This also works for us as employees with our bosses!! Take and keep notes!

  3. Anonymous

    It's pretty common to give new leaders some thorny employees to shake out.
    Document, document, document. And keep your focus on the dream team you'll be able to personally hire and train.

  4. Anonymous

    I don’t know how she hasn’t been terminated. She is agressive and unprofessional. Scary at times.

  5. Anonymous

    In my experience, it can be a full-time job to actively manage to termination. The effort ends up being set aside as not worth the trouble far too often. This leaves nasty and counter-productive morale killers in place where they can drag down entire teams. Everyone knows they need to go, but a history of dismissing or excusing poor behavior makes it even harder for an existing leader to act because, precedent. A new leader doesn't have precedent to explain, so it's common to put them in the position of taking out the trash.

  6. Anonymous

    Yes I do feel as if I was brought in to “fix” the department including clean house as needed.

  7. Anonymous

    Stay close to your boss on this -- relay the details of the misbehavior and your process to deal with it right up to the limit they are willing take in.

    And look for signs that this hellion has protection at some level above you. In my experience, if the Problem from Hell manages upward like a charismatic angel, company management may know the problem but have little incentive to solve the problem or support the person solving the problem. Your direct boss may support it, but others might not.

  8. Anonymous

    My boss wants her gone. Not sure why this was not done before I arrived.

  9. Fernanda Martinez

    I dealt with a very similar situation when I started my current job 4 years ago. This one girl put me through the ringer but I told my leadership that she had to go and they agreed. She and her twin sister were there for 10-11 years and got away with murder. All gone and now I have an awesome new team.

  10. Anonymous

    Thats the direction I am going for. Thank you.

  11. Lesa Edwards, Career Coach & Master Resume Writer

    I echo what Anonymous has said about documentation. In regard to whether you should job hunt: Do you love the job (minus the one employee)? What is going on with the other "unprofessionals?" Remember: no job will be perfect, so you may very well be trading in one flavor of challenging position for another flavor.

  12. Anonymous

    I love the job but don’t want to be pushed out or terminated.

  13. Anonymous

    Be very careful. There's a reason that this employee is still there and their behavior is tolerated and enabled.

    I echo the documentation advice because this employee has learned that their behavior is acceptable and is most likely emboldened by the fact that no one confronts them or when they do nothing happens.

    You have your work cut out for you. Do be careful abd smart and remain consistent with your discipline.

  14. Anonymous

    An unemployment in tik tok posts email formats that are good for documentation and says to write everything down. Especially emails.

  15. Anonymous

    Good idea thank you.

  16. Anonymous

    If possible you should bring in new talent and let some of these people go.

  17. Anonymous

    That is my intent. I have some cancers on my team and if left there will poison the team.

  18. Heather Cutler

    Check out the book "Good to Great." There's a theme throughout the book about making sure the right people are in the right seats at an organization. And if not, acting swiftly to remove them or replace them. While the book speaks about very senior leadership roles, much of the concept is totally relevant to your situation.

  19. Anonymous

    Just a tip, if the people you have to manage suck, maybe the company isn’t so great!

  20. Anonymous

    I was thinking that, however other departments have good staff. These employees are the leftover from a merger.

  21. Anonymous

    Ugh, those can be the worse! They don’t care about new company policy, they are of the “this is the way we have always done it and I’m not changing” mindset. Sit down with each, explain new policy, ask for goals metric (which is a nightmare and not always accurate measure) then start firing.

  22. Anonymous

    Yes this will be a process but hoping for positive results and changes.

  23. Anonymous

    Yes. I was wondering that. Sometimes, one team gets all of the most time consuming employees. Not fair. You may want to reconsider if this job is going to work for you.

  24. Anonymous

    We are in a recession. Im kinda stuck. Plus I left previous job after 3 months for this one, I don’t want to look like a job hopper.

  25. Anonymous

    Ugh. Leftover from a merger—sometimes can be a positive thing, but if they are stubborn and resist change, it can take a really long time to clean house. Unfortunately I know this from experience; and the employees in question worked for the company another 20 years. Face meet palm!

  26. Crystal Howell

    Take control of the staff and let them go, if you are in at will state. Take the ring leader first.

  27. Anonymous

    I am in an at will state and yes I will be making cuts.

  28. Elizabeth Hall

    I absolutely agree. Let the ring leader go first and then meet with each one of the rest, separately, and let them know it's time to choose.

  29. Maria Pilar

    Divide your team in group and talk with them , and tell them they can talk with you if they need it

  30. Jennifer Monaco

    Are you able to shake things up in the team?
    Meaning have people cross train each other then have them do different work?

    I would also have 1;1s with each person. Ask them, what’s on their mind? What is the biggest challenge they are facing? What direction would you like to see your career grow in? Making these connections can sometimes help. Document each meeting by sending meeting notes afterwards summarizing what you discussed.

    There are many reasons employees can get to this point. It can be the former leadership team, not promoting within, etc. It may be time for some to move on.

  31. Karen Rytwinsky Sharrock

    having gone through this myself, I would meet with each one - 1:1 and specifically outline expectations- including expectations for workplace civility, meaning no gossiping, etc…hopefully your workplace has a policy in that ( if not, pm me and I’m happy to share ours). I struggled through this and have made big improvements. You also need to figure out what motivates each employee to do their best and meet their “employee needs” (reference Gallup’s Maslow hierarchy). They may be acting out because they don’t have what they need or are frustrated, maybe they just need to know someone is in their corner. Keep being an amazing boss, firmly set your boundaries, turnover is never fun. Can’t hold people accountable unless you tell them the expectations first, then hold them to it. No exceptions. Or you start sliding down a slippery slope and you’d not be leading.

  32. Anonymous

    Id' start job hunting. I started a new job 3 mos. Ago also and the customers are awful.

    I'm starting to job hunt.

  33. Anonymous

    The customers are great. Its a couple of my employees that are unprofessional and terrible.

  34. Anonymous

    I was in this exact position. Document , outline expectations, and if necessary make those tough decisions and let people go if they don’t meet them. In my situation it came out one of them had applied for the role and was passed up, fortunately when they left everything else worked itself out.

  35. Anonymous

    Always be on a job hunt!

  36. Afo Ogbeyalu Kalu

    I agree with much of the advice in this thread.

    All that I would add is that when engaging in Coaching/Counseling/Progressive Discipline, use the tools provided by the company in an educational, and communication/team building manner (as opposed to punishment/"I'm gonna write you up!"). Share your concerns, ask employees their take on the situation, brainstorm together ways to get employee back on track, develop an action plan, agree on a timeframe/timetable to meet in order to gauge results, and of course document!

  37. Anonymous

    Thats the thing. It seems I would have to fire being I am their manager. I do not want anbad reputation so new to the company but I feel these changes should have been made a long time before I arrived.

  38. Jonnell Shedlock

    Umm - unlesss they are indispensable, can you fire that person?

  39. Anonymous

    I absolutely want to fire them. They are poison.

  40. Heather Bingham

    If you were told at interview that they were problematic, then your management will not be surprised by their behaviour. Perhaps you need to have an open, honest discussion about what they intend you to do with this team. Do they want you to bring them into the fold, or would they be just as happy or more happy if you managed them out? Then you will know where you stand. However, I wouldn't be too worried about the complaint to HR if you were told that they would be difficult before you joined.

    On another matter, you do have to be quite steely to achieve either in or out with a new and difficult team, especially when they don't play by your rules. It is a job for someone who is genuinely comfortable being firm and has a positive attitude to team streamlining. If you just don't want to be in this position, that's another matter; that could mean looking for another job, and I certainly wouldn't blame you. However, I would be very surprised if your boss or HR team were surprised by the events so far. It is probably more a case of you knowing exactly their preferred outcome/s and then working towards them, utilising in full all the tools provided by the organisation, safe in the knowledge that you are supported.

  41. Asia Tai Robinson

    Be true to who you are. Life is short but jobs are plentiful. If they can’t be onboard don’t be ashamed to jump ship.

  42. Anonymous

    I am up for the challenge. Plus we are in a recession.

  43. Barb Hansen

    I have been in your shoes - managing a dysfunctional team that had a few malicious team members.

    It's certainly possible to fix a broken team, it just takes time and effort that you may or may not want to give.

    No shade to you - fixing teams is tough work because managers usually take the brunt of the negative emotional energy being generated by the team and you may choose to go do good work elsewhere. I will say that dealing with my last dysfunctional team made me a better manager so although the journey was tough, both my team and I benefitted.

    My dysfunctional team went from a measured satisfaction rating (Internal rating - how the team viewed the company + External rating - how the rest of the company viewed the team) went from 65%, which was the lowest in the company to 96%, which at the time was the highest in the company in 2 years.

    Helpful tips from my time fixing teams.

    Tough talk: If you don't have management training - get some. dealing with difficult team members is part of the job of a manager.

    Get support from your HR partner - does the company have management training? Does the company offer team building workshops? Can you find training classes for individual team members? To help them gain new skills, or work towards a management or team lead role of their own (and this training might "distract" a difficult employee).

    If you haven't already, do some research on teams dynamics. One suggestion to read is the forming–storming–norming–performing model of group development.

    For an immediate suggestion: Review your team members to see who think is redeemable and who may be too far gone. Work with your HR partner to find other work solutions for those team members who may be too far gone. Team training sessions, PIPs, moving them to another department and as a last result, helping that person transition out of the company.

    In my dysfunctional team example, we had to let go of two employees after 6 months b/c the value they brought to the team did not outweigh their negative attitudes and disruptive behavior. Both team members got great severance packages.

    Good luck!

    Note: I edited this comment to fix a spelling mistake

  44. Anonymous

    That was very detailed. I truly appreciate it.

  45. Anonymous

    Work with your manager and HR now. Time to start taking control of the team. You manage them, don't let them manage you.

    Identify the strengths of the team, the goals, who needs more training, and who needs more direct management to achieve the goals.

  46. Anonymous

    I agree. I am very new but I feel a couple on the team think they run the show.

  47. Anonymous

    Please job hunt, because it's better to leave a toxic environment and have your peace of mind, than to be there and burn out, especially when you've been told about their difficulty.

  48. Anonymous

    I like the company though. No ones hiring.

  49. Anonymous

    If you like the company and want to stay then you need some clear and concise information from HR and your manager about how you are supposed to manage this team. If you want to stay and you are up for the challenge then go for it. I do think it's smart to always be on the lookout for new opportunities but if you feel no one is hiring and you like the company, then stay.

  50. Anonymous

    Or perhaps ask to move to a different team.

  51. Anonymous

    I have absolutely been in charge of an unmanageable team. I had a boss who would force hires on me, not allowing me to choose my team and ended up with unprofessional, unmotivated people who could be combative and vicious. Worse, the company made it very hard to fire anyone, so my choice was to suck it up or suck it up. I had plenty of documentation of bad behavior, but it did me no good. After 12 years of working hard to keep this team as productive as I could, I left for a new job.

    I think you need to ask yourself if you are up for the challenge and get some clear policies from HR if they expect you to clean up this team. Otherwise, I'd start looking. For what it's worth, I can't believe how some people carry themselves at work and the disrespect people show to their managers.

  52. Anonymous

    I don’t want to look like a job hopper though. I left my last job after 3 months. Apparently no ones hiring as well.

  53. Anonymous

    I completely understand that. Since I left the job with the unmanageable team, I am miserable in my new position. There are a number of reasons why, but basically it's a toxic place to be. I have been searching for approx. 6 out of the 8 months I've been there (10 - 20 applications per week day) and only got past the phone screen twice. I'm sure other job seekers will agree that looking for a job can also be psychologically damaging. I know I feel quite bad about myself, my skills and a ton of regrets. But I also know that I need to carry on and something has got to give. I'm not sure if this will help you but no one I have interviewed with thought I was job a hopper, sometimes people make a mistake and join and org that isn't for them. Good luck!!!

  54. Clara Elena Rodriguez Torres

    Yes. This happened to me both of you described it well

  55. Anonymous

    The same has happened to me twice. Without support from my own supervisors it was impossible to make significant progress. I did what I could, but just had to leave. I'm about to start a new job that is non-supervisory, which is just fine with me.

    I was even told once by my supervisor to prepare a PIP for an employee, then my supervisor lied to me and said it had been held up by HR. When I checked on it with HR, they had no record of it being submitted. I had already told the employee that it was on the way in order to help them prepare themselves mentally. No good deed goes unpunished. I wound up being put on a PIP myself (which my supervisor did not follow through on), and was eventually let go. My supervisor even had the nerve to say in my performance evaluation that my staff member's engagement had not improved!

    I've been away from there for a year and just learned that she's been reorganized into a non-supervisory role. Apparently someone has figured out that I wasn't the problem person, after all.

  56. Anonymous

    That is awful! I am happy you found something better.

  57. Anonymous

    What matter is if your boss supportive? Allow him to be your coach if so. Ask him for help,

  58. Anonymous

    Agreed. She knows the staff is a mess.

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