Following on from part one of this article, where we looked at five ways that you could counteract a lazy employee in your business and hopefully turn the situation around.
Hopefully you found them useful.' I've detailed part two below and the final five ways that you may be able to turn a staff member around who you perceive as lazy:
6 An Internal audit may help
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.
7 Address training gaps
Training should never replace management, 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.
8 Have a Succession Plan
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.
9 Job-rotation programs
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.
10 Consider external factors
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 could 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 should have and you should find an increased level of loyalty within that particularly worker.
Summary
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.