Businesses’ need to make sure employees engage with each other and able to work collaboratively in order to help them reach their full potential and achieve the company’s goals that you are striving towards. However, some employees tend to only think about themselves and don’t work towards a shared vision. This can seriously disrupt a project and have an impact on the entire team. You would assume that a quick fix would just be to get rid of the bad apples, but there was probably a reason you hired that person in the first place, so why not give them the benefit of the doubt and find out what’s caused their change of behavior and bring them back into the team mentality.
Here’s 5 ways that you can deal with someone who isn’t a team player.
1. Hear them out
Honesty is always the best policy, so schedule an appraisal to allow your problem employee to voice their opinions without any repercussions. The aim is to get to the source of the issue so ask them what they do and don’t like about their job.
Be aware that the reason they are acting in a non-compliant way may be part of a bigger picture and could mean that you will have to make some changes elsewhere in the business in order to improve their performance in their current team.
Conclude the meeting by giving them an ‘Action Plan’ and also set a date for a follow up meeting to see how they are progressing.
2. Obtain feedback from other team members
No team works in harmony continuously. This is to be expected when people are passionate about their jobs and the work they do, but the aim is to have all of your teams pulling in the same direction. It is for this reason that it would be a good idea to ascertain other team members’ views towards their colleagues. You can do this through a 360 degree appraisal to get a bigger picture from other peoples’ perspectives.
3. Offer coaching and training
Make an offer to provide coaching to the employee either from yourself or via the respective project manager. The mentoring process can make employees feel more valued and give them the opportunity to make personal progress which quenches their thirst for personal gain. In return, they may be more inclined to use their newly found expertise to coach other employees.
4. Promote team interactions
Hold regular team meetings and ‘team building’ events. These will give the team the chance to communicate and get to know one another outside of a working environment which could help encourage non-team players to participate and relax more.
5. Show a genuine interest
Ask about an employee’s own interests, hobbies and family. Expressing your sincere interest in a non-work related subject can help employees ‘open up’ more at work and encourage them to share their passions with other team members, thus helping them improve their relationship with others.
The need to be liked is an innate instinct that the majority of us possess. So, if what was previously a team player has become distanced from their colleagues, there must be an underlying reason. With the right approach you can coerce them back into the fold and develop your teams into high achievers striving towards the company goals.
If you need any HR help or advice, then why not get in touch, HR Revolution have the solutions you need.
