How to Deal with a Difficult Employee in Your…

Every business is dependent on its workforce, but small businesses are more reliant on their staff than larger organisations. When you’re relying on a small team to achieve commercial success or you’re working together in a relatively small space, any issues can be magnified and have a devastating impact on your operations. 

While disputes can arise from time to time, things can be even more complicated if you have a difficult employee to deal with. To help you navigate the situation, take a look at these four top tips for dealing with a difficult employee in your small business:

Review Your In-House Policies

As an employer, you should have established policies for dealing with complaints, grievances and poor performance. However, many small businesses don’t have custom processes in place. Seeking advice from employment law consultants will help you to determine what your duties are under the law and enable you to create bespoke policies that will govern your staff and your business. 

When you’re dealing with a difficult employee, it’s vital to follow established policies and promote transparency. By revising these policies now, you can ensure that every member of the team is treated fairly and equally in accordance with your company’s established management policies. 

Listen to Their Issues

If an employee is being difficult, it’s tempting to tune out their complaints or simply assume that they’re being difficult for the sake of it. However, actually listening to their issues could shed new light on the situation. In some cases, a ‘difficult employee’ might have a legitimate grievance or even a personal issue that’s affecting their behaviour at work. 

When you give them the opportunity to be heard, it can have a transformative effect on their conduct and enable you to put appropriate remedies in place. 

Provide Fair Feedback

When you’re unhappy with an employee’s behaviour, it’s vital to take action. Using the company’s policies to guide you, offer feedback that will help the employee to change the way they work. Sometimes, people are unaware that they come across as abrasive or combative, but the right feedback can help them to communicate in a more collaborative and effective way. 

Protect Your Team

One difficult employee can have a big impact on the team as a whole, so don’t let ongoing issues affect morale. While dealing with difficult employees can be nerve-wracking for small business owners, getting the right advice and taking swift action can protect the rest of your workforce and your company. After all, you don’t want to lose productive members of staff because of a poor working environment caused by a difficult employee. 

Fostering a Harmonious Atmosphere at Work

Every employer should have a strategy in place to achieve a positive and harmonious environment at work. However, there are times when a difficult employee will appear to thwart any efforts you make to cultivate a happy and productive workplace. With the right professional support, however, you can find appropriate ways to remedy the situation and safeguard your small business.  

Cleaning Your Home for a Clearer Psyche

Did you know that clutter in your home can stifle your creativity and prevent your mind from working properly? Having a clean and organised living space will boost happiness, productivity, and overall well-being. This is due to the fact that everything has its own space, and nothing distracts the mind from more important things. Here are some ideas for organising your home to help you have a clearer mind. This is not a recommendation for you to run around your house and get rid of everything. These are simply suggestions for making your home less cluttered. Follow these suggestions, and you’ll soon see the results!

Put things in their own place

Making sure that all items have a home within a cupboard, drawer, or closet (unless they are ornamental) is essential for keeping your home tidy and organised. If some of your belongings don’t currently have a home, it’s time for a purge. The six-month rule is a good guideline to follow when organising your belongings. If you haven’t used it in the last six months and don’t expect to use it in the next six months, it’s likely that you’re keeping it ‘just in case.’

Spend a little more on products that will help you clean your home

While cleaning your home shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg, spending a little more on cleaning products will help you fight through the dirt and grime much easier than, say, the home brand products you’ve been using to save money. Chemical companies UK have a wide range of cleaning products that will help chore day go smoothly and quickly.

Keep your kitchen organised

Don’t forget to include your kitchen in the mix as well. There are numerous ideas available online for organising your kitchen cabinets. Why not take it a step further and organise your refrigerator as well? Not only will it make it easier to find the food you’re looking for, but if done correctly, it will also prevent cross contamination within your refrigerator. Having a designated area in your kitchen for your utensils, mugs, plates, and everything else you use will make it easier to keep your kitchen organised even after regular use. Plus, the more organised your kitchen is, the easier it is to keep tidy in the long run.

Organise toys

Many parents struggle with where to store their children’s toys when they are not in use. Purchase a large basket or ottoman to store their toys in after they have been used. You should be able to find storage that complements your decor and keeps it feeling like home. Make it a habit for your children to put their toys away when they are finished playing, as this may affect how tidy their bedrooms are as well!

Make space

Making space in your garage or shed for items that you don’t necessarily want in the house but know will be used again or are sentimental items is a great way to keep your home clutter-free while still being able to keep the things you really love.

Keep your home free of clutter and excessive noise to create a much more relaxing environment. Having a well-organized home also makes it easier to keep clean. Why not put these tips to use right away and see the difference for yourself?

Keeping Your Office Up to Scratch

If your business has office staff, chances are, they’ve been working from home over the past year and a half or so. The rapid rise and spread of coronavirus and Covid-19 saw huge changes in the way that we work. Governments implemented rules and measures that encouraged people to stay home as much as possible, meaning that many office staff, able to work from their laptops or computers from home, switched to working on a remote basis. For some businesses, this has worked. Staff have been able to complete their work effectively and efficiently without the need for an office space, and businesses have reacted by switching them to permanently remote contracts. However, if you’re eager for your staff to return to the office, you’re going to have to make an effort to ensure that the office space is safe and pleasant for them to return to. Here are some suggestions that can help you to achieve this, creating a quality workspace for your employees.

Deep Clean

First and foremost, you need to conduct a deep clean of the office before staff members’ return. Chances are, the office has been unoccupied for a long time now and dust and dirt may have built up. You also need to make sure that your staff are comfortable returning to the space and feel that it is clean, safe and hygienic. Deep cleaning is best carried out by professionals. There are a number of cleaning companies out there to choose from who will be able to get your workspace up to a good standard. You may also want to consider additional services, such as antiviral fogging, duct cleaning and more. You can learn more about this here.

Update Hardware

Over time, the computers, laptops and other pieces of equipment your staff use will become outdated and better versions will appear on the market. Of course, you don’t need to update every single time there’s a new release. But every once in a while, it’s a good idea to update your team’s hardware to ensure that they have working equipment to complete their work from. This can streamline processes and increase productivity, as older hardware can hinder your staff, taking longer to load and potentially shutting off without saving.

Update Staff Facilities

Most offices will have a space for staff to take a moment away from their desk and relax. This may be a kitchen, break room or anything else. Whatever you offer, it’s a good idea to update it every once in a while. Things that get used on a day to day basis may get run down, so replace them as and when needed. Perhaps you need a new coffee machine or kettle in the staff kitchen. Maybe you could do with a better quality television in the break room. On the grand scale of things, these aren’t massive investments, but can greatly increase staff satisfaction.

These are just a few suggestions that can serve as starting points to improve your workplace for your business and for your staff. Hopefully, some will speak to you and you’ll be able to implement the changes sooner rather than later!