How to Confront the Troubled Employee
Your goal as manager is to confront undesirable job behaviors, not attempt to determine why or to diagnose. To confront in this sense means to help the employee come face to face with his/her behaviors. Many supervisors put off confronting an employee, but they should attempt to correct the problem when it is first recognized. The sooner a problem is acknowledged, the sooner performance can improve. Feeling inadequate is okay. At times it is very uncomfortable discussing problem performance with employees. There are resources to help, however.
What is important is that you do not let your discomfort stop you from doing your job. Now is a good time to "take your pulse" and see how you are feeling. Feelings of frustration are best resolved before meeting with the employee.
The checklist Assess Your Confrontation Style can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses in this area. These statements summarize characteristics of an effective management style. Here are two additional tools that will help in preparations for constructively addressing performance problems with employees:
The next step is to Conduct the Corrective Interview with the employee.