Dealing with difficult employees

Essential elements of the probationary period How long is the probationary period? How do I make the most of the probationary period? - Training - Communicating with the employee - Employee “fit” for the position - Cautionary signs/behaviors during the probationary period

Dealing with problems and issues during the probationary period Making the most of the Probationary Period – continued – - Regular meetings with the employee - Honest feedback and assessments - Probationary Evaluations

Addressing issues during the probationary period DOCUMENTATION: - document positive things you see/observe during the probationary period - document in detail the negatives you see during the probationary period - make sure you are documenting in close proximity to the events, and if other individuals witnessed something, or were involved with it, ask them to document their observations

Probationary Period – CONTINUED - Communication During the Probationary Period - With the Employee - With your Supervisor - With Human Resources - Evaluations

Probationary period – making difficult decisions - When should I start thinking about it? - Who should be involved? - What all should I take into consideration? - What is the process?

Probationary Period – dismissing the employee - Preparing for the dismissal - Scheduling the meeting - What happens at the meeting - After the Dismissal has been served

Dealing with non-probationary difficult employees (CONTINUED) - WHAT IS THE DESIRED GOAL? - Discipline? - What are the steps in the disciplinary process?

Dealing with Non-probationary difficult employees - Identify who all may be involved - Identify what the issues are - start with big picture and drill down - Document - Reach out to HR

Who is involved? - Does the issue just involve the employee? - Does the issue involve more than one employee within the department? - Does the issue involve employees from across departments? - Am I as the supervisor part of the problem? - DOCUMENT -

What are the problems/issues? The next step is to identify what is the problem issue(s)? - External factors impacting work? - Personality conflicts/Confrontational? - Knowledge, Skills and Abilities - Not abiding by rules/regulations? - DOCUMENT -

DOCUMENTATION - What do I document? - How do I document it? - Maintaining documentation

Getting HR Involved - At what point do I get HR involved? - What is HR going to do?

HR’s Involvement - HR’s role in the process is to guide you through the process. BUT WHAT IS THE PROCESS? - Dependent on what the goal is, and where we are at in the process

Why is it dependent on where we are at in the process The INITIAL goal is NOT to discharge the employee. - Employees are one of our most valuable resources we invest substantial time and resources into them. - Goal is to develop a plan to help the employee to be successful

…But I’ve tried everything - What are my options? - Performance improvement plan - Disciplinary action - But I want to fire them

Why can’t I discharge them? Regulatory Environment - SUCSS Statute and Rules - University Policy and Rules - Collective Bargaining Agreements

PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLANS - What is it, and who is it for? - Why do I do one? - When/How do I do one? - What goes into it, and how do I hold my employee accountable? - What do I do if it works/doesn’t work?

Ok – so what is the process? - Civil Service vs. Academic Professional - Disciplinary process for unionized and/or non-unionizedemployees

Who is responsible for What in the disciplinary process - HR responsibilities - Unit/Supervisor responsibilities

What should I takeaway from this? TRAIN DOCUMENT PLAN & DEVELOP DISCIPLINE SHOULD BE A LAST RESORT

Questions/comments? Personal experiences/stories from the trenches?