| Managing problem people is the most frustrating part of management. Employees who cannot or will not perform are so out of sync with the manager's own desire for achievement that they represent an almost insuperable communication problem. On top of the manager's daily work pressures is heaped the unwanted load of a few people who demand a disproportionate share of time and attention. |
| This manual is designed to help managers either solve these problems or rid their organization of people who will not respond. |
| For the first 11 years of my professional career, I wrestled with these issues as a practicing manager and human resources executive. As a problem arena, it is both legal and psychological, both policy and politics, both stress and mess. |
| And in the last ten years, I've had the opportunity to work on a consulting basis in over a thousand organizations and seen the universal nature of the problem. It cuts across all industries, job descriptions, ages, and educational levels. My client firms continually request assistance with the problem. What they all seek is a reference manual of techniques and specific approaches, not simply a discussion of the topic. Furthermore, executives made clear, give us a tool that isn't oriented toward just one approach; we need something pragmatic but not simplistic. |
| I believe that this book will be such a tool. |
| First, it is written for the practicing manager. While there are research bases for the conclusions and principles presented here, this book is primarily for the man or woman faced with the need for immediate, practical answers. |
| Second, this book can be thought of as a tool kit, stocked with a wide range of approaches and options, each of which can be effective when employed under the proper circumstances. For example, while counseling may be a useful tool with some problem employees, it is totally worthless with others. And so the text does not endorse one behavioral, psychological, or legal approach over any other. |
| In management, the prime question is, "Does it work?" Any craftsperson knows that you use different tools for different jobs. My aim has not been to tell manager craftspeople how to do their jobs, but to provide a clear picture of the tools available and when and how to use them. |
| An added feature is the Inventory on Problem Employee Managing (IPEM). In Chapter 3, a sample is given of the IPEM's three parts: the Inventory, the Answer and Discussion Booklet, and the Action Plan. Here the manager can determine his present knowledge level, quickly identify areas where additional knowledge is needed, and map out a specific plan of attack for dealing with problem cases. The book delivers! |
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