I personally work with the owner's son. He asked me last week why I thought the morale was low out in the plant. I gave him a straight-up honest answer.. he looked at me and said NOPE! WE have a couple troublemakers that's why the morale so low. Employees got one raise out of the last 3 years.. Most of them got a 30 cent raise Most the skilled/educated people left Went from 200 employees down to 75 employees "So now we all have extra duties" We have a handful of people here including "myself" that can fix the machines when they break down. "They show zero appreciation" by us saving them thousands of dollars not having a technician come out. And since we quit randomly drug testing now we got some employees coming there with THC vape pens high on the job. And if you vent to other employees.. Management wants to call them troublemakers..... But after 25 years of service, I'm leaving soon. They just don't know it yet.... Cuz I'm playing my part..😁 I do understand that there is trouble making employees but sometimes the manager/owner misses the mark on why....
Thanks, David! Another great "workshop in a box" (brief). You cover a complex issue thoroughly yet succinctly. I've seen too many leaders give up on an employee too soon, rather than do the tough work of trying to redirect an employee who's off-track. My philosophy is "reform, then replace"--in that order. Many times, you can save an otherwise good employee who's struggling through some relatively easy coaching. That's why "examine [the problem] closer" is key. The hard conversation isn't limited to just firing someone; often, the harder conversation involves digging into the underlying issues and finding a way to turn behavior around. Then, if that fails, you can move to replace. But when it works, you become a better leader and can set your employee on an even better trajectory forward. A great resource is the book, "Crucial Accountability." I appreciate your solid advice on this tough topic.
