When confronted with an employees personal problem that affects the employees work or that of other employees the manager should?

Managers are in charge of making sure that their employees meet expectations and complete their work in a timely and professional manner. Many different factors can cause employees to underperform, and it is often the job of the manager to uncover the reason for poor performance and create a plan for improvement. Confronting employees about performance issues without discouraging them or reducing office morale requires tact and dedication. Solving performance issues within your staff can sometimes take place over a long period of time and requires managers to consistently follow through with the strategy they choose to solve the issue.

Hiring choices

Many managers find it challenging to select the right candidates to join their team. Attracting quality applicants, evaluating their applications and deciding who to offer a job to can be a taxing process. However, understanding how to make difficult hiring choices is a key to building a successful team at work.

Related: How to Hire Employees: A Step-by-Step Guide

Transitioning to a leadership position and establishing authority is a challenge every new manager will have to face. Interactions between peers at work have a different dynamic than those between a manager and an employee, and managers will have to learn how to command respect from others. Even experienced managers may have to evaluate how successfully they can command a team and lead others to accomplish their goals.

Team conflicts

When people who work on the same team have interpersonal or professional differences, a manager is often expected to help them settle their issues and promote teamwork. Resolving team conflicts is a particularly difficult problem because you should try to remain objective and avoid taking sides or alienating an employee. When addressing interpersonal challenges, you should do your best to handle disagreements that occur within your team in a fair and mature manner.

Strategies for dealing with problems

Just as there are many challenges a manager will have to overcome, there are a wide variety of strategies and resources they can use to not only solve problems but develop a team culture that makes future issues easier to handle. You can use the strategies consistently to support company culture or as-needed when confronted with a particularly challenging issue. Below are some useful methods you can put into practice while solving problems as a manager.

Consistent communication

One of the best strategies for solving problems is to communicate clearly with your team. Setting expectations for employee behavior can help avoid performance issues, while providing constructive feedback when problems do occur is a great strategy for improving them. Using your communication skills to mediate interpersonal problems among employees, set professional standards and develop a positive workplace environment can help prevent and solve many common management issues.

Related: How to Conduct Employee Evaluations

Modeling good behavior

Many workplace problems can be improved when a manager builds trust and demonstrates leadership by modeling the behavior they expect from their team. Your team can be more receptive to your leadership if they see that you consider the needs of the entire staff and lead by example. 

Leadership training

Many workplaces offer leadership training that can help you learn advanced management skills. If you find one aspect of being a manager particularly challenging, you can seek out leadership training that addresses that issue. The best leaders are willing to commit to improving their own skills in order to create a team culture that is focused on growth and overcoming obstacles.

Seeking mentorship

Even if you manage a large team of employees, you should still pursue mentorship from people whose professional skills you admire. By seeking out a mentor, you can observe the strategies they use to solve problems and provide leadership, and then practice using those methods with your team.

Related: How to Start a Mentor Program

Management Problems FAQs

While many management problems occur regardless of the type of organization, there are some more specific issues that require more detail and attention. Here are the answers to some of the frequently asked questions about management problems.

What causes time management problems?

There are many different causes of time management problems, including burnout, workplace distractions, ineffective scheduling or misunderstood priorities. You can determine the specific cause of time management problems for your employees by observing how they work and having regular check-ins about their progress.

What are operations management problems?

Operations managers focus on the efficiency of different business processes as opposed to managing employees and team members. Operations management problems include organizing expenses, competing with other businesses and keeping up with technological trends.

Every leader dreads managing emotional employees. Whether it’s tears, anger or screaming fits, the extremes of emotion leave both the supervisor and the employee – and anyone within earshot of the outburst — feeling embarrassed and stressed.

How do you stay calm and get your point across when confronted by emotional employees? How do you prepare for this scenario? Learning to direct and manage emotional conversations in a productive way should be one of the essential tools in your supervisor toolbox.

In the moment that an emotional outburst occurs, however, your top priority is de-escalating a volatile situation. This isn’t the time to try to sit down with the employee for a productive conversation about consequences and accountability.

Here are 10 tips for managing emotional employees:

1. De-escalate the situation

All of us need time to back down and regain a sense of calm when we “explode.” Ask the emotionally-charged employee if they’d like to move to a quiet, private space within the office to recover. If that’s not an option, you may want to send the employee home for the remainder of the day.

And remember that you need to refrain from letting your own emotions cause you to make unfortunate snap decisions. Don’t fire an employee in the heat of the moment; you both need time to recover from the incident.

Do you expect the employee to return to work later in the day or tomorrow? Were things so heated you’re not sure when or if to expect the employee to return? Write up an account of the incident, and contact HR for guidance on the best way to handle the situation.

If your employee calms quickly and does want to talk, keep your voice even. Try saying, “I’m having a tough time understanding the issue. Could you explain that a little more?” You want the employee to mirror your calm response; don’t get louder or try to talk over them.

2. Don’t take it personally

Watch out for your own defensiveness, especially if the employee said something in anger, like blaming you as the cause of the blowup or for a missed deadline.

Remember that frustration is usually the cause of outbursts in the workplace. Stay focused on performance issues – is this situation likely to occur again – and keep your tone respectful and professional.

Once everyone has calmed down, you can prepare to have a conversation with the emotional employee to discuss performance, consequences, standards and accountability.

If the thought of confronting the issue again sends your blood pressure soaring, you’re probably not alone. Your employee is embarrassed, maybe humiliated, and they’re probably not looking forward to the conversation, either. It’s up to you to maintain a constructive conversation that focuses on performance, not on personality or hearsay.

These tips will help you achieve the outcome you desire.

3. Plan ahead

Nothing beats being prepared when it comes to managing emotional employees. Ask yourself if this person tends to be sensitive to criticism or quick to anger. Does the employee have a known trigger? Has he or she been under a great deal of stress, either at work or home?

Think in advance about what you want to say and how to say. Plan for privacy. Do not have the conversation within earshot of other employees.

4. Start with a positive

Especially if you think the conversation can take a turn to the emotional, start it with a positive. This sets the tone for your entire discussion and can help the employee engage with what you’re saying later, even if it’s hard to hear.

Tell your employee what he or she does right. Tell them what you appreciate about their contributions to projects, coworkers or team dynamics. In other words, let your employee know up front why they are a valued member of the team and that you appreciate their contributions.

5. T.H.I.N.K.

Build your comments to fit the acronym THINK, which stands for True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary and Kind. Do your words fit into these parameters? Keep in mind that the goal of this conversation is not to berate or further embarrass your employee. Be positive and affirming, and ask yourself if your words, as well as your body language, are accomplishing that goal.

If you’re uncertain how to word what you want to say, reach out to another manager to run through your key points, and adjust your language based on the input.