Should I Say Something?

April 07, 2011

Has this ever happened to you?

One of your employees screams at a coworker in a fit of rage. Tempers quickly cool and the next day the two appear to be speaking again. Now, you are not sure what, if anything, you should do about the outburst. While having lunch with a friend, you explain what happened and then you ask, "Do you think I should say something?"

It is not always an easy decision.

Whether the situation involves a form of disruptive behavior such as the one I just described or poor performance, poor judgment, or even frequent unscheduled absences for that matter, the decision of when to step in take corrective action is often a difficult one.

You don't want to overreact. After all, everyone has a bad day now and then, especially the amount of tension and stress that can build up in the workplace. Besides, a single incident is not likely to pose a serious problem.

Still, you can't have employees being disruptive. The question is at what point does a person's behavior begin to affect the work? A single incident is not likely to pose a serious problem. But what about two? Or three? In other words, at what point does it become a problem that requires action?

What we need are a few simple guidelines to help us decide when we need to take corrective action and when we can wait a while longer to see what happens or even drop the matter altogether. Here are such guidelines based on my own experience.

When you should always take action

First, there is one instance where you cannot afford to ignore even a single incident. And that is when an employee clearly violates a written rule, policy or established practice. This includes issues such as safety policies, confidentiality, even the office dress code. Even if you disagree with the rule or policy or think it is not all that important, if an employee is clearly in violation, then you need to take action. Why? because written rules and policies carry more weight and you may be held accountable if you fail to enforce them.

With other forms of employee behavior, including the one I described above, here are a few questions to consider. A 'yes' to any of these four questions means that the situation is probably serious enough to warrant some kind of response on your part. A 'no' on all of them may mean the situation is not all that serious.

1. Are the employee's actions having a measurable adverse impact on the person's productivity (or very likely to)? Put another way, is the quantity or quality of the employee's work performance suffering? For example, when it becomes clear that an employee's unscheduled absences or late arrivals to work have begun to affect the person's productivity, then it is time to do something about it.

2. Do the employee's actions have a measurable negative impact on the productivity of others? A disruptive employee may continue to produce, but interfere with the ability of others to get their own work done. Explosive behavior, quarreling, bullying and the like are good examples of this because they upset people and serve as a distraction. You can usually measure the impact of this behavior by the number of complaints you receive about the employee's behavior and by the observable effects on other people, provided the complaints are reasonable and legitimate.

3. Could the employee's actions pose a health, safety, or liability risk? This includes carelessness as well as various forms of harassment, discriminatory practices, and unethical conduct.

4. Could the employee's actions harm the organization's reputation or result in loss of business? Rudeness directed at customers, carelessness, and failure to respond to customer requests are all examples of employee behavior that can drive away customers, and harm your organization's reputation.

This is by no means a complete list. Perhaps you can add a few more of your own. Nevertheless, these four questions offer a good starting point. By asking yourself these questions when you see an employee not doing what you expect, you will be able to answer for yourself, should I say something?