What Do You Do When Staff Run Off The Rails?

Yes it would be wonderful, but it rarely happens...for long anyway.

Handling these difficult situations and turning people around, is one of the major challenges we face in managing and getting the best out of our people. It takes real skill, and is a key attribute that separates an exceptional TOP GUN Sales Manager from the rest.

There are a number of reasons why good people "run off the rails" at times:

• Personal problems.
  
• Problems at work.
  
• Lack of motivation.
  
• Lack of certain skills.

Some of the symptoms are:

• Sliding sales results.
  
• Inconsistent sales results.
  
• Poor attitude around the office.
  
• Poor attitude in dealing with customers.
  
• Lack of motivation.
  
• Playing "company politics".
  
• A slowing of pace.
  
• Sloppy inconsistent work.

So what do we do when we see some of these symptoms?

1. Take immediate action
   
   You owe it to yourself, the person or people involved, the other members of your team, and your company, to take immediate action when you see a problem developing. If you procrastinate, the problem is likely to get worse not better. If you are seen to be procrastinating, you will quickly lose the respect of the person or people involved, and the other members of your team. This may compound the situation, turning a small problem into a very big problem. I've seen managers completely destroy themselves and their sales teams by not taking swift action to correct a growing problem.
   
   
2. Get the facts
   
   Find out what's happening and why. You may choose to approach the person or people involved directly, sit them down individually and/or as a group and ask questions to get to the heart of the issue. Alternatively you may care to do some 'detective work' first, seeking out information from people who may be able to enlighten you as to what is causing the problem. If you do this however, be careful you don't start playing 'office politics' and indulge in gossip.
   
   
3. Determine quickly if the person and situation is recoverable or not
   
   Sometimes some people and some situations are not recoverable. For example in a case of dishonesty, fraud, sexual harassment etc. If you determine the person or situation is not recoverable, take immediate action to resolve the situation. If however you determine that it is recoverable...
   
   
4. Develop a specific plan for turning the person or people around
   
   One of the best ways to do this is through discussions with the person or people involved. Get them to develop and 'own' the plan, then...
   
   
5. Gain agreement for the implementation of the plan from the person or people involved
   
   The plan must be in writing, signed by all concerned including yourself and in the form of a letter to the person or people involved. If it doesn't work out, then you may need this letter or letters later on to comply with any legal requirement in your state or country, concerned with terminating an employee.
   
   
6. Set a specific time frame for the turn around
   
   Like all goals, the plan needs to have a specific time frame or time frames for the achievement of its stages.
   
   
7. Follow up and monitor progress
   
   It's the old story of "Inspect what you expect...or lose respect!"
   
   Once you have a strategy or plan set in place, with a specific deadline, you must follow through. This follow through may involve you in training, coaching, mentoring, counseling and helping this person as well as inspecting progress. If the turn around is successful, congratulate the person or people involved and offer further support as required. If however it's not...
   
   
8. Take action immediately to correct and resolve the situation
   
   If you leave someone on your team who is not performing, who is destroying the team culture etc, then you are doing everyone, including the person or people concerned, a disservice. You are also at risk of losing the respect of the other members of your sales team. They will think you are incompetent for not acting.
   
   Also if someone is unhappy or unsuccessful while working with you, then this is doing them no good either. They would be better off looking for another situation where they will be happier and feel more fulfilled. Help them to move on.

Dealing with difficult situations and people is not always easy, but not dealing with them can be catastrophic!

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