I had a meeting with a team member on Friday, who has not been performing since she joined the team. I had raised issues with her previously, and this was a meeting to follow up the various issues which had been discussed.
The meeting did not go well.
Basically the individual (a lady who is a bit older than me), refuses to accept that she is under-performing, and when I provided her with examples, she reacted aggressively and sarcastically. Throughout the meeting, she would try to put words in my mouth, for example - I discussed occasions when she has not appeared for work - and she would say - 'So you're saying I can't take leave!', so I would have to clarify & say, 'No, I am referring to the occasions when you have not come into work, without leave being granted' etc.
I found her behaviour during the meeting unacceptable and unprofessional - she would interrupt me mid-sentence and start laughing and in a sarcastic tone jeer, 'oh I have heard it all now!'
Throughout the meeting she was taking down selective notes - I can't explain it very well, but it was like it was being done in an intimidating way - each time I said anything, which she would then try to twist, she would break off, and make a point of scribbling down notes - which would take up to a minute each time. I actually said to her, 'would you mind not doing that - I find it very distracting, and it gives me the impression that you are more concerned about building some sort of dossier rather than listening to what I have to say.' I said she was welcome to make a record of the meeting afterwards, or if she wanted, I would get someone in to take notes - but she said 'No, and I'll take notes if I want.' I asked would she be sharing a copy of the notes and she replied 'certainly not!'.
I'm not quite sure how I managed it, but I kept my cool throughout the meeting, and emphasised that my goal was for everyone in the team to be performing and working well with each other, and outlined what I needed her to do.
However, I am not prepared to tolerate that sort of conduct in the future. Would it be unfair to the staff member for me to bring someone else to sit in on the meetings and take notes?
I have previously asked my HR about whether they would attend meetings, however they say they would not attend unless it is a formal procedure, and that by having someone else sit in, the staff member could claim it was unfair & overbearing, and she would be entitled to bring a friend. I work in a large public sector organisation.
At this stage, it is not a formal procedure, and as far as I am concerned, as a manager I am trying to address performance issues. However, it seems a bit that I feel I need to have someone present with me when I next speak to this individual.
Any advice would be gratefully received.