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92 August 2014 | beautystorebusiness.com YOU NEED TO ACT QUICKLY All of these events—and others like them—can alienate customers and dent your bottom line. That's why it's impor- tant to take action before matters get worse. "Quick attention is essential in dealing with negative behavior," says Ian Jacobsen (jacobsenconsulting.com) a management consultant based in Morgan Hill, California. "Issues that are allowed to fester can grow out of pro- portion and become the impetus for still more negative behavior," he adds. An employee who is not confronted about undesirable workplace activity will assume the practice is acceptable, notes Jacobsen. Moreover, because "one bad apple spoils the bunch," destructive behavior can spread to other workers. Soon, your high-performing employees will start to get frustrated because they have to pick up the work left behind by the slackers. Finally, as destructive attitudes spread, you may start to be viewed as a manager who cannot handle challenging employees. GATHER DATA Acting fast is one thing. But just what should you do? Start by engaging with the employee involved. "Take the employee aside and describe exactly what you have seen or heard," says Jacobsen. Here's an example of such a description based on a supervisory response to the first of this article's opening scenarios. "James, I heard you talking with Amy about one of our customers who had just left the store. You stated that the customer was 'a pain in the neck.' This is inconsistent with what I would expect from you. What was that about?" Notice that the words reflect the position of an observer who is sim- ply gathering data. Avoid using terms that suggest a value judgment or cast a bad light on the employee's inten- tions or motivation. Terms such as "bad- mouthing" or "rudeness" or "negative behavior" can quickly backfire by putting the employee on the defensive. And an employee who is trying to defend actions is not in the right mind-set to work with you to resolve behavior issues. "Think of yourself as being a newspaper reporter who's just reporting the facts," advises Jacobsen. Once you have stated what you observed, listen to the employee's response. "Don't inter- rupt," warns Jacobsen. "Instead, wait for a break in the answer and then ask any further questions you need to under- stand the situation." To continue the example, James might offer the information that a few days ear- lier the customer had changed his mind several times in stating what he wanted from a service the store was offering. The frustration in dealing with the customer angered James and he found himself letting off steam when dealing with that customer again. With this information you have already gone a long way toward resolving the problem. Your data gather- ing has uncovered what is affecting the behavior: A short fuse when it comes to difficult customers. Once the employee has explained what happened, summarize what you have heard to demonstrate that you understand. Then ask if your summary is accurate. If not, ask for further clarifica- tion. The next step is to get the employee invested in a self-generated solution so the behavior does not recur. "Once the employee affirms that your summary is accurate, ask how the situation could have been handled better," advises Jacobsen. Using the last example, you might respond with: "James, I realize that some of our customers can be demand- ing in terms of service and time. It's not OK to say the things you said about them and the matter was made worse because another customer overheard you. How could you have handled this better?" James might come up with a solution such as counting to 10 or taking a quick walk around the store when he feels the urge to blow off steam. "If the employee suggests a better solution and it is acceptable, go for it," says Jacobsen. "He has come up with a way to solve the problem." And that's good. Compliance will be better if the employee agrees to a self-generated solution rather than one imposed by the boss. If the employee can't think of a bet- ter way, then explain how you would like the situation handled in the future and ask if he or she can do that. In our example, you might suggest that the individual speak with you or a supervisor after dealing with a difficult customer because talking about bad experiences can reduce their negative effects. If a behavior has been serious enough, you may wish to confirm what has transpired in writing and provide a copy to the employee. And don't forget your follow-through. "There is an old adage: 'If you expect, you've got to inspect,'" says Jacobsen. "Check back from time to time to see if the employee has adopted the desired behavior. If so, commendation is in order. If not, take the person aside again and repeat the above process." You might also agree with the employee on a day to follow up, and mark your calendar so it doesn't fall through the cracks. BE A COACH, NOT A DICTATOR Notice an important characteristic about the above approach: It represents the work of a coach, not a dictator. "Do not be heavy-handed. Don't use more muscle than necessary," says Dr. Lois P. Frankel, a partner at Corporate Coaching Inter- national (corporatecoachingintl.com) in Los Angeles. "In the old days, managers would respond by saying 'I have to tell you that if I hear of this behavior again your employment may be jeopardized.' That was considered progressive. But not any- more. Today you want to turn around the situation with the least disruption." Help- ing an employee improve his performance can also make the corrective process more palatable for the boss. "Too many bosses don't have these difficult conversations because they are seen as confrontational," says Frankel. "Replace that confrontational cap with a coach cap. Tell yourself that your job is to bring out the best in people and make a company that functions well. IMPROVE CONDITIONS Your data-gathering activity may uncover a surprising fact: an underlying problem in the workplace needs to be addressed. This issue may be causing negative feel- ings on the part of other employees as well. "When the performance or attitude of a good employee starts to deterio- rate, that can be a sign that something is going wrong in the workplace," says Richard Avdoian (richardavdoian.com), H o w t o T u r n N e g a t i v e W o r k e r s i n t o P o s i t i v e P e r f o r m e r s . i n d d 9 2 How to Turn Negative Workers into Positive Performers.indd 92 6 / 2 6 / 1 4 4 : 5 1 P M 6/26/14 4:51 PM