Review the case study below and in 350 – 700 words explain how you would approach this employee, anticipate the employee’s response, and discuss which conflict resolution techniques you would use. Submit your response to your instructor through the Dropbox in your online course and add it to your Blog.
“You are a department manager in a mid-sized company that provides technology support services. You have ten employees who are required to maintain a high level of technical expertise and deliver excellent customer service. One of your employees, who has been with the company for two years, is performing at a substandard level and you have received numerous complaints from customers and coworkers. In addition, this employee has displayed confrontational behavior which has created a hostile environment. You must now meet with this employee and deliver an ultimatum regarding the need for immediate improvement or dismissal.”
Case Study
As a manager who needs to confront an employee in regards to their performance, I would approach them and ask them if they were able to speak with me privately for a moment. I would not want to make them feel uncomfortable by forcing a conversation on them in front of their peers. Not only is that unprofessional as a manager, but puts the employee in a very uncomfortable situation. Since the employee has been accused of being confrontational, I would be prepared for them to possibly be upset and defensive about our topic and conversation. I would have different prepared answers and talking points that I want to address with the employee to keep our conversation on track (Lewis, 2009).
If the employee has not been previously warned or spoken to about the issues, I do not feel that dismissal is the next step after a verbal warning. I feel the steps should be verbal warning, written warning, and then a dismissal. As such, I would approach the employee with the attitude that together we can mediate through this problem. I would want our conversation to focus on what we can do from this point forward to enhance the experience for our customers. I feel that it is important to communicate to the employee that it is ok to take a designated amount of time to find this solution before further action must be taken by the management. I would also approach the employee with a neutral attitude, and ask for his opinion on the situation. Do they think that there is improvement that can be obtained? Is there something else going on in the employee’s personal life that is affecting their performance? I would ask my employee to state his version of the dilemma as well as a solution that they believe can be accomplished (Lewis, 2009).
It is important that I listen carefully to what this employee has to say and give them the respect and time to communicate their thoughts and opinions about what they feel that they need in order to improve their performance. I must also resist the urge to argue or defend my point in the event that the employee does become defensive. We both must also attempt to be focused on the end goal of improving the experience for our customers (Lewis, 2009). This process can really be defined as the stop, think, listen, and communicate, or S-TLC method (Cahn & Abigail, 2007). As a manager, I took the time to stop and then think about what needed to be addressed with the employee. I also asked questions that provided me with the opportunity to listen to my employee’s opinion. After that, we both communicated and created a plan of action that we are both aware of that will either result in improved behavior and actions from the employee or he will be dismissed from our organization.
No comments:
Post a Comment