Speaker 1: 10 Common Staff Problems and How to Solve Them 10 Common Staff Problems and How to Solve Them Managing staff is one of the most challenging tasks of every manager or employer. It can either make or break the company, staff or employees in any direction. The better it is for you, now that does not mean you won't have any staff problems. As a manager, I say the fact that you are bound to have problems when people are reporting to you. If you are a new staff to management, these checklists will help you understand these are common problems, the ways to solve them fairly but you are encouraged to try out the suggested tips. 1. Not performing Like we have a staff that is not performing well, how can our or his problem be solved? Once recognised this problem, confirm the staff immediately. Do not delay. If he or she is a new staff, talk to him in regard to our expectations and what better way to live in the world than during the COVID-free period. If he is not a new staff and he seems to be slacking, condone some investigations. If there is something at all that has caused his below par performance, do not be too quick to jump to conclusions. Listen first, then act accordingly. What we are trying to say here is that a staff that has been with you and has been recognised as being clever, that has good performance, that is punctual to duty, he is quick to correction and so on and so forth, then you recognise that such staff is not performing well, then you conduct an investigation. You either call him or her personally and find out if it is a problem at all, then you handle that in a personal way. If it is a financial problem, you know what to do. Then, he or she needs not to be sacked, but he or she needs attention which could be from subordinates or any other person around him or her. Secondly, slow or inefficient. It is frustrating when your staff delivers work which is better than you expected. Not only does it create delays, it sometimes creates more work for you to clean up his efficient work at foot. To solve this issue, make it a point to always state clearly your expectations when you give instructions. That is when job description comes in. When you employ a staff, make sure you give him or her job descriptions so that he or she will be able to follow it strictly and better. And if he or she deviates, you should be able to know what happened. He or she should be able to explain better. Lateness to work. Is it a motivational issue or something at all that hinders him from coming to work on time? Is it important to differentiate between a habit and a wrong in this incident? And they should... And do he differently? Third, private calls. Private calls. Question, is it excessive? Is it excessive? Do not get too stressed, but it happens only occasionally. Perhaps there are some private matters that need to be sorted out urgently. However, some ground rules such as an informed reorientation for new staff would be better to let them know what is considered reasonable. If you are a Baccal staff, you bear with me that there was a policy concerning making calls during the office hour or in the office. We were asked to make calls briefly and not using the whole time to recall issues that are not official. And when we have problems with staff that will not listen to simple instruction, he or she could be warned or called to order. Number five, social networking sites and blogs. This is getting more difficult to control unless the company has decided to block these sites. And we are so perfect in Marco University. There are some sites that when you sit down watching it, checking it, it brings viruses, this and that. Over there at the ICT, those sites are being blocked. So there's no staff that will have to complain or a subordinate or a boss that has to complain that my staff will not listen to simple instruction concerning using internet. Those sites are being blocked. Even when the ones that are available are given to us, we should maximize it. And not using our whole eight hours of duty to do what? Internetting. I personally, I don't like using Facebook during the office hour because it takes you to a slumber relationship. You're forgetting the people standing in front of you to attend to, or documents, or things. Even those that are cooking in the kitchen. We forget those things on the fire and the gold box. God forbid. It's time to ask poor heads. How do we handle such problems? Poor heads. As long as it's not a fake, we need to be sympathetic. Consumer policies are important for employers to ensure finances will not be a problem. Some basic health care benefits must be factored in for every new business startup so that you would not get burdened later. Antisocial. Not attending public social functions. Citing personal reasons. It's good to find that more antisocial guidance help in staff bonding. Is it because spouse and children are not included? Malaysian companies usually include their immediate families in company outings. And that is a good way in promoting good bonding and a sense of belonging. Theft. Criminal activities such as this should be handled professionally so that the message is clear. That such acts are not to be tolerated. Do not cover love. Romance. This is a problem. It could be from a boss. It could even be from a subordinate. It could be from a messenger to the boss. Romance in the office is a big problem between opposite sex. It's common to have office romance. And staff dating. One another. The effect of the amount of time spent together. However, if things go wrong and affect job performance, the manager may have to intervene and straighten things up. The manager may need to wear the listener and counsellor's hats. You can see that the manager needs to wear a listener and counsellor's hat. Sometimes there is a fine line between a busybody and a boss that cares about the issues available. Number 10. You can think it could be a problem. Politicking. Whether you believe it or not, we have all these politics. All these politics. Is it affecting your staff in a positive way or in a negative way? And if such are the case, how can you handle such problems? None of this is clear from office politics. But some can get really ugly. A good manager should set the records straight. From the start, the team should work together and not involve in bickering. Probably the best thing to do is to get a good example of yourself by staying away from heavy politicking. The team will know that your concern is work and results. We can learn all the things and yet we should find ourselves occasionally having one or two staff that we deem as a misfit. No amount of counselling or warning help. If that is so, we have to admit that we make mistakes sometimes by getting the wrong person. If that is so, get advice from your HR department, from all professionals to deal with the situation. To get rid of your staff, follow the correct procedure as important. God bless you all.