I have a really difficult people problem and I don’t know how to solve it

The Puzzle

• A middle manager consistently asked her director questions in order to make decisions that she should have been capable of making herself.
• She seemed unsure of her remit and wasn’t fulfilling all her duties.
• The only option available seemed to have her exit the business but this would be time consuming and costly to find a replacement.

The Prize

• As part of a larger HR project, the manager was interviewed and asked about her frustrations, the bottlenecks and how she found working with the director. The frustration was two-way. She said he never made time to listen to her queries, didn’t help her to make difficult decisions, and had a ‘closed door’ policy. She felt like she was bothering him when she wanted support.
• The director responded well to the situation, and understood that he was part of the problem. He agreed to try a new way of working. The manager was challenged to think and come up with a suggestion about a way forward rather than asking questions. She learned to present issues in a way the director could quickly process and respond to.
• The director realised a ‘closed door’ policy wasn’t helping his manager to feel supported. Regular time was set aside to listen to what was going on in her team and making a regular effort to manage and interact with her better.
• A realisation that the director didn’t have a ‘problem employee’ on his hands. The change in relationship took input from both parties.

Of course, this isn’t always the case, but we do often see problems caused unknowingly by managers. By finding a solution to the problem instead of a termination, valuable time and money is saved on a a bad leaver, plus the recruitment and training of a new employee.

Nearly every business has had an issue with a member of staff at some point, and we help you to deal with it in the quickest, easiest way possible. Sometimes the problem is with the employee themselves; at other times the real problem can lie with their manager, their team, or unrealistic expectations.  By talking the problem through with us, we will do a quick diagnostic and help you come up with a solution with the outcome you want. That could include disciplinaries, informal discussions and changing job roles, or agreeing a settlement for exit.