Buying a franchise in the Philippines might be easier in many aspects compared to starting your own business. Despite this, you still have to put a lot of effort to run your business. Even if you get assistance (depending on the franchise you purchase) from your franchisor, plenty of responsibilities are solely put on your shoulder – like dealing with difficult employees.
Having difficult employees is nothing new – you will encounter them regardless of your business’ nature. This means that you might come across one or many of them even in franchising. As the manager of your own franchise, it will fall on your shoulder to deal with these challenging staff. How will you do it? If you are fairly new to the business, read further to clue you in on the best ways to deal with difficult employees.
Avoidance is Not a Tactic
Different people have different ways of dealing with tough situations. With that said, you’ve probably met people who love to ignore existing problems in the hopes that they will all disappear one day. If you are managing your very own franchise, this will not work. You have to remember that avoiding the problem will only make things worse instead of better. The only way to straighten an issue is to confront it heads on.
Evaluate and Intervene
Once you become aware of an existing problem, you need to quickly evaluate the issue at hand so that you can take immediate action. This means that before giving out punishments, you have to think and consider every aspect of the situation. There are some cases though wherein you will have to intervene as quickly as possible. Let’s say for example that a delinquent employee went to work one day with weapons on his bag. Then you will have to take immediate action to ensure that no one will get hurt. Although there will be situations wherein you are given more time to evaluate a problem before taking action.
Listen To Your Employee
Most of the time, when someone is being difficult, the last thing anyone would like to do is listen. In spite of this, when it comes to your employees, this is one of the things that you should never fail to do. Listening – yes, even to the most challenging of your staff members – is one of the best ways to better understand a situation. You might not know it but that difficult employee might really have valid problems that you should be addressing. By talking to him, you will not only get a vantage point of the problem, you will also be alerted if there are any issues at work that you need to deal with. Also, this will leave a positive impact on your challenging employee because it shows that you are willing to listen as long as he relates his problems.
Research and Document
How did you hear about the problem? If some of your staff went up to you to complain about a certain employee, don’t act rash; for all you know, the accused one might actually turn out to be innocent! Instead, research about the issue first. Don’t just talk to the employees who submitted a complaint, reach out to the supposed unruly personnel as well. Also, remember to document the whole thing, especially if there are instances where a delinquent employee displays bad behavior. This will serve as your reference or proof if ever you have to terminate the said employee.
Take Action
Once you have proven that a certain employee is indeed displaying negative attitude that affects the business, you have to take action. Decide what to do with the difficult employee. If you want to give him time to right his actions, then you have to talk to him and explain the positive change that you want to see on him. Remember not to attack the person himself, but deal his attitude instead.
Be Brave
Firing an employee might be difficult, but at times, it is necessary. If you give a difficult employee the chance to prove himself and he continued to display bad attitude, then it might be time to let him go. Don’t beat around the bush and don’t put it off because in the end, you will only worsen the problem. You need to communicate with the delinquent employee the reasons why he is being terminated so that he can improve upon himself in the future.
In franchising, you will come across plenty of different types of employees. Some of them might display excellence while some might be challenging to manage. If ever you come across difficult employees as you run your franchising business, just remember to follow the tips above to help you settle a problem efficiently.