July 21, 2008
Ask Meryl ~ unaccountable employees
Meryl, I am a kitchen manager at a college that employs students. As the season progresses, I have to repeat myself a lot and deal with many sick calls. As this is on going I find myself getting annoyed and I tend to take it out on everyone. Blowing up is part of every week. I’m trying to stay calm but sometimes I need to address the problem immediately and this is where the problem lies. I don’t have enough time to calm down. Can you make a suggestion as to how best to handle these situations calmly?
Meryl Responds,
Clarify your expectations and hold employees to job standards. The fact that they’re students doesn’t excuse irresponsibility. I imagine you explode because you feel powerless to affect change.
In Perfect Phrases for Managers and Supervisors, I describe how to establish job standards and how to get people to agree to them. Once that’s complete, your conversations can refer to the standards they agreed to. When you address transgressions, adopt a troubleshooting, “how can I help you do your job right” attitude. If that doesn’t work, you need to warn them and if that doesn’t work, replace them. One of my seminar attendees values the phrase,
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I need someone to do your job, and I’m hoping it will be you
It may be these students haven’t learned responsibility, or it may be they have but think the job is beneath them. Or they could be overloaded. Whatever the reason, be clear, direct and supportive – and make it clear that they will be held to the standards of the job.
Check out my Performance Flow Chart. It guides you though the entire process.
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07.23.08 I have supervised students at the university where I work for 15 years. I must always respect the part of the learning curve these people are in and understand their priorities. I explain to them that i NEED them to do the assigned work and I EXPECT them to do it. But I remain flexible and understand the chaotic nature of the minds of this cohort. I also know the academic calendar so know when there will be dips in their proformance. I am the professional doing a task, they are students looking for money and knowledge, including the knowledge of work experience. To blow up at this situation repeatedly tells me that this manager might not be viewing things for the student’s point of view. They might try to lighten and figure out a way to make things work more smoothly. Many of my employees have never been in a job situation befor this and just need to be taught well. They want to succeed at EVERYTHING but need to learn to prioritize and I need to remain flexible and understanding about their developmental stage.
Comment by L. Barmann — July 23, 2008 @ 5:14 am