Dealing with Problem Employees by Increasing Employee Engagement

The hallmark of a good leader is that they can talk to anyone and get them to perform at their best. So your first impulse should be to figure out how exactly you can use this employee in your company. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

• Why did you hire that employee? Did they project a completely different image when you interviewed them?
• Did you sincerely see something in them—some kind of enthusiasm, competence and friendliness which would help them to fit into your company?

Is the Employee in the Right Position?

It’s possible that your problem employee is just in the wrong position within your company. Maybe they have a talent for getting along with people, which would make them great for marketing/sales. But maybe you hired them for something administrative instead, which they find very boring.

Retaining Employees by Keeping Them Engaged

The main source of problems at work is boredom. When people don’t feel engaged or challenged by what they’re doing, they’re likely to procrastinate, criticize etc. In other words, they’re likely to become problem employees.

So the first thing to do is to make sure that the employee is in the right position and fulfilling the right duties. Can you give them any tasks to make them feel more interested in what they’re doing? They’ll feel good about the fact that you’re entrusting them with more. Plus, it’s always possible that they’ll find their true niche in your company and start contributing their piece.