There are thousands of books written about how to motivate, incentivize, cajole, push, persuade or punish employees simply to get them to do their jobs.
But you want to know what is truly worse than a non-performer? The great performer who is a bad employee.
If you've yet to encounter this person, know that unlike the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot, this person is real.
What are the characteristics of this monster? This employee is often the hardest worker in the company.
He gets to work early and leaves late.
His work is really top-notch and you have to provide him with very little direction.
While on the surface he sounds great, just like a cubic zirconium ring, it only appears to be genuine until you take a closer look.
At first, the flaws are not obvious.
Having established himself as a great employee and gained your confidence, this worker begins to question the decisions of management.
He does this by asking coworkers open-ended questions such as "What do you think of the new __________?" (Fill in the blank depending on your industry.
) This makes your other employees start questioning the issue at hand.
Next, the employee begins to undermine the performance of others by stealing their ideas completely.
If he senses that a fellow coworker is a weak performer, he finds a way to get others to bash the "non-performing" employee by asking them their opinion of that person.
This can be done by his initiating talks about the weaker employee at the water cooler or break room; via Skype, instant messaging or text.
Running this employee's name through the rumor mill can do untold damage.
Some managers may never figure out that this force of evil is their "best" employee, but they will sure feel his presence.
The ogre employee will continue to perform but his department will steadily go downhill.
People will stop feeling good about their fellow coworkers, their manager and eventually the company.
At some point, turnover will happen either voluntarily or involuntarily as the manager starts getting rid of people.
How do you spot this almost invisible and unholy terror? There are some signs but even they are not absolute: 1.
The department is not performing, but you have one employee who is "getting it done.
" 2.
No matter how bad things get, this person never complains directly to his manager.
3.
You start to think of this person as being irreplaceable.
(This is the most common sign.
) 4.
You are not a very approachable manager.
This ensures that no one will ever come to you to complain about this person.
The signs may be there but you still need proof before you get rid of one of your best.
Exit interviews of departing employees can sometimes reveal the enemy within.
You may also want to consider having an outside consultant interview all your employees in confidence.
No matter what you decide to do, all managers need to consider that sometimes your great performer is actually a wolf in sheep's clothing.
(C) 2011 Jerry Ballard, Perfect People Solutions