Please help me line manage this member of staff

[Pleeby]

I’ve recently taken over a new team, I was forewarned about one member of staff. Not so much about her work but her attitude and behaviours. Since I started one member of staff has handed in their notice as they can no longer work with her and another one indicated they are looking for another post due to her.

Examples of her behaviour:

Arguing about everything with me. If I send out a “team actions” email, she will return it to me with red font reasons about why she shouldn’t have to do/can’t do something. Each point followed by a stream of !!!!!!!!!!

Constant loud huffing and sighing, banging desk drawers closed and files down on her desk

Eye rolling and sighing during meetings

I called a quick huddle and she sat at her desk not turning around. I asked her to get involved and she slammed her paperwork down, turned around and said “I’m busy”

Work rate is half what everyone else’s is. This is because she says the work is unfairly distributed. I asked everyone to give me a list of all of their responsibilities, it isn’t correct that she has more to do than other people at her level.

Gossiping and bitching about who ever is working from home that day (they are on a rota)

Refuses to sign into teams every morning when working from home. I have to call her and tell her to sign in each day.

It is ruining the office to be honest. My 1-1s are just people complaining about her. Her 1-1 she has cancelled the last 3 times.

Please give me some advice

[ThumbWitchesAbroad]

Thanks flowery

[Sleepingdogs12]

You will be seen as a great manager if you take this situation on and manager her out. Speak to your manager and HR. Make sure you know the disciplinary process , keep a log. All those emails she returns are useful.

[flowery]

[quote ThumbWitchesAbroad]@MrsPinkCock - I'm interested, not being snippy in any way - if you can't log it as Annual leave, how would you log someone going AWOL from their job? Which is effectively what failing to log into an expected virtual meeting is doing.[/quote]
You log it as unauthorised absence.

[ThumbWitchesAbroad]

@MrsPinkCock - I'm interested, not being snippy in any way - if you can't log it as Annual leave, how would you log someone going AWOL from their job? Which is effectively what failing to log into an expected virtual meeting is doing.

[idontlikealdi]

If I recognised myself as the direct report and my manager was asking fucking Mumsnet for advice on how to manage I'd have you hauled over the coals for mismanagement and inability to manage.

You don't sound competent in a management role and need a lot more support.

[MrsPinkCock]

@viques

BTW I would be tempted to let her know that failing to log in means that the day will be logged as annual leave.

That wouldn’t be lawful, though!

[viques]

BTW I would be tempted to let her know that failing to log in means that the day will be logged as annual leave.

[viques]

@NewjobOldme

She hasn't left because she's allowed to get away with her dreadful behaviour. She wont just leave.

She probably will, but she will also probably go down the stress/sick/ slag off the manager route first.

OP, log everything, as others have said speak about issues quietly and privately. . Keep your cool. Set SMART targets and review them regularly, she won’t keep to them and it will give you better grounds for disciplinary action than eye rolls and drawer slamming.

[MrsPinkCock]

You’ve had some good (and not so good) advice here OP.

If she has less than two years service, no contractual disciplinary policy and no grounds for a discrimination claim then speak to HR about giving her her notice.

Otherwise I would deal with the issues informally at first and formally if no improvement. It’s probably misconduct (won’t do) rather than incapability (cant do) but you can find out which is more likely to apply during the initial informal 1-2-1.

And if she’s working from home, I would suggest that ceases immediately to see if her productivity increases. I’d bet she’s only stayed because she hasn’t been managed appropriately. She will probably resign as soon as she is!

[ImInStealthMode]

Gosh I feel for you OP. I've only just recently been promoted to managing people and I dread the time when I have one like this.

We had one a couple of years back in our company. A horrible witch of a woman who would gossip, backstab, stir the pot, waltz in and out when she fancied and let her mates in the team do the same. She made one of the younger members of her team cry by cornering her in the car park kicking off that she hadn't invited everyone to her birthday night out (she was turning 22 and had invited 2 staff of a similar age who she got on well with, entirely fairly).

Sadly she was a senior manager herself so nobody except the MD could do anything about it. He did nothing at all (perhaps out of shame as he'd head-hunted her in the first place) and lost at least 3 brilliant young team members because of it, plus the respect of most of the rest of us.

She retired a while ago and the place is blissful now without her.

[tiredmum2468]

God I had an awful woman work for me a few years back now

I literally put her down the disciplinary route and managed her out she was awful to me and to her colleagues and was a vile individual

[FrippEnos]

TerribleCustomerCervix

I’m there to give advice and help management handle these things, including ensuring they know how to keep records etc,

I may have written it badly but this what I mean.

[Sacredspace]

I would take her aside and mention all of the behaviours you’ve listed. Ask her if there is anything you can do to help, are there any underlying issues affecting her ability to do her job. If there are, you can work with that.
If not she’s going to need to be told that she needs to be doing what you ask of her.

[TerribleCustomerCervix]

@FrippEnos

TerribleCustomerCervix

I'm not saying that you should be "bloody doing it for them!" but it is part of your job to make sure that it is recorder and dealt with properly,

No, that is ultimately the manager’s role.

HR is not some kind of All Seeing Eye that can or should deal with every tricky personnel issue within the employment. That’s what management are there for.

I’m there to give advice and help management handle these things, including ensuring they know how to keep records etc, but I don’t do it for them.

Very few HR departments will actually step in and take over something like this unless there’s a complete breakdown in the relationship between the staff member and local management.

[FrippEnos]

TerribleCustomerCervix

I'm not saying that you should be "bloody doing it for them!" but it is part of your job to make sure that it is recorder and dealt with properly,

[MumofSpud]

[quote Pleeby]@UhtredRagnarson, I’m not going to escalate staff issues to my manager at this stage[/quote]
Ummm... yes you have to !

[TerribleCustomerCervix]

I’m the only HR person in my workplace and I’m happy to give advice, sense check and boost managers’ confidence when they’re dealing with a tricky member of staff, but I’m not bloody doing it for them!

[1forAll74]

Do you not have some training, to deal with people who are difficult to deal ,and disrupt your place of work.? or does this have to be done by a boss or whoever.

[FrippEnos]

flowery

*FrippEnos^
^You need to keep kicking this upstairs to your line manager and HR.
It is ultimately their job to sort this out.^

It really isn’t. A manager who has to run to their own boss or to HR to deal with a behaviour or performance issue is ineffectual and has no authority.

If this is the case

It absolutely is a line manager’s job to deal with both performance and conduct issues, with the support and guidance of HR and their own line manager.

They why do you contradict yourself with this?

[OnwardsEverStridingOnwards]

@eurochick

I agree with using HR. They are there to protect the business and this woman is a risk to it. They can guide you through the options.

@Pleeby I agree with this. I don't understand why HR hasn't been consulted.

and I read that your manger has informed you that it's 'up to you what you do with her."? this isn't good enough. Raise this again with your manager and HR again and don't let it drop.

[TheSunIsStillShining]

thank you @RaspberryCoulis :)
I do find that I am a very alone in my views in this country. As a manager/director my role is to make sure that a team functions at the top of their game. I need to provide everything they need to succeed (info, material, space,....). On the other hand what I say goes. It's not a democracy, it's not an elected official position. It's a chain of command. You have to be reasonable and very fair. And a good line manager cares about their people. But not the the level of stupidity described here.
The problem is that this person gets away with it. And then becomes more cheeky, because why not? There is no "punishment" for her actions.
No way someone could pull off showing their backside to me when I call a work huddle (eg to solve a problem) unless they had a deadline in the next few hours. But at that point I would already have said they don't need to join.
I have a 2 strike policy. First is a nice chat at the coffee machine. And if it turns out they need help, then arrange that and see how it goes. Second is a formal involving our boss. If no change: formal process if long term employee or sack them.
And I always make this clear to any team I manage. If they don't like it - tough.
I do have to say it only works both ways. If a manager can't take criticism than there is a problem. You should be listening and change if needed if that makes the team more productive/happy/coherent.
I had a team where I had to change parts of my behaviour so we could work together smoothly. Didn't like it, but it was a fair ask.

[tenlittlecygnets]

Your manager sounds shit.

So the company is happy to lose good members of staff but not manage this woman? Why on Earth?

Good luck with her!

[HermioneWeasley]

I’d ask for this to be moved to employment issues where you’ll get responses from more experienced /qualified posters

I assume she’s been there more than 2 years?

[TheQuaffle]

Tell her what you expect from her and put her on a performance plan. Manage her out she sounds horrific.

[OnwardsEverStridingOnwards]

[quote Pleeby]@UhtredRagnarson, I’m not going to escalate staff issues to my manager at this stage[/quote]
@Pleeby why not?