We all have the displeasure of having worked with, or even managed lazy employees.' The stark reality is that laziness is a trait that is deep rooted in many and in some cases is irreversible.
However, you may falsely identify an individual as lazy when there could actually be a legitimate reason as to why their performance at work is well below par.
To help you with this, I've put together my top ten ways to counteract lazy employees with part one and the first five below, with part two and the final five available to download at the foot of this article.
Let's kick off with some clear the air talks'..
Communication is the key to good management.' And if you have a capable member of your team who is under performing, then you need to sit down and face the problem head on. However, rather than a simple blame exercise, you need to stress where that individual fits into your business and how vital they are to the success of the organisation.
By simply clearing the air, you may find it is the morale boost the team member needs to get them back on track.
It could be that although the employee is demonstrating all the classic symptoms of being lazy, they may in fact just lack direction.' Some people work better if they have targets and firm management. Not everybody is able to work under their own initiative.' Some people will always need their hand holding through their working career.
Another aspect of good management is being able to identify this characteristic in somebody to help them fulfil their potential.
Just as some people need firm guidance in their careers, others work best when they feel that a reward is available when they exceed the goals you have set them.
In many businesses, the sales staff are typically the employees that are incentivised through a series of rewards.' However, why not look at motivating the remaining staff with a marketing program whereby your staff are rewarded a certain amount of points for their efforts, which are then redeemable every for quarter.
And when the points are redeemed, they don't always have to be monetary in nature.' They could be redeemed against a day off, a designated parking space outside reception, a weekend away or even for something as simple as cinema tickets.
Everybody has elements of their jobs that they love and hate.' I enjoy writing articles but dislike other aspects of my role (I'll not say which in case the boss is reading!)
Again, part of being a good leader is being able to identify people's strengths and working out where they fit into your team.' Although you may feel that somebody is being apathetic towards a certain role or task, it may just be that it really doesn't float their boat.
And rather than just telling that individual to suck it up and get on with it, take time to figure out what excites them.' Perhaps they work better when working in a group or excel when delivering projects?
Lazy or just bored?' If you have a talented member of staff who appears lazy, could it be that they just need stretching to get the best out of them? By giving them some more responsibility you may just up their motivation for the job at hand.
Although you may have recognised that one individual is showing signs of being outwardly lazy, the problem may not be isolated to this one employee.' It may be that their other lazy individuals in the business who are just better at hiding the fact.
If you suspect that this may be the case, you may want to consider putting together an anonymous employee survey to try and discover what is and what isn't working in your office.
You can ask about working hours, the office environment, employee interaction and even management.' You will be in a much better position to change things if you have all the facts.
Training should never replace good leadership, although a lot of companies do fall into this trap.' It may be that an individual that you have identified as being lazy is in fact in need of some urgent training to get them back on the right path.
If are interested in developing an employee through training, you are likely to be rewarded by somebody who will be more committed and more capable of delivering success to the business.
Nothing breeds malaise in a worker worse than the thought of being stuck in a role with no prospects of promotion.
Therefore, it is imperative that you have a clear succession plan with staff with the right skill sets in order to ensure continuity within in the business.
Working towards a possible promotion can have a massive morale boosting effect on your workforce and may just snap some out of their lazy slump.
We all have those days when our job feels like a bit of chore.' But for some people this can feel like the norm and leave a worker feeling numb.
This is when you may consider looking at offering them the chance of a job-rotation program, which allow workers to see how others in the business contribute to the company's goals. 'You may discover somebody has a skill set which is better suited to another area of the business.
As difficult as it is to comprehend for some bosses, employees do have lives outside of the office.' And external factors such as relationships, sick relatives or any other disruption in their lives can drain a worker's enthusiasm and energy for the job at hand.
It may be worth considering allowing that worker some extra time off to get affairs in order.' You would be amazed at the reinvigorating effect this wil have and you should find an increased level of loyalty within that particularly worker.
The tips I have put together won't work on everybody.' You will still find members of staff who will still be apathetic towards their job, no matter how much help and guidance you offer them.
I have seen first-hand just how disruptive and demoralising it can be for the rest of the team when there is someone who just wants to drift through their job offering very little.' Unfortunately their unenthusiastic approach could spread amongst the rest of the team.
Therefore if they cannot be helped, the only course of action is to get these individuals out of the business for good.
