Delivering Bad News: Case Study

 Case Study

"You are a department manager in a mid-sized company that provides technology support services. You have ten employees who are required to maintain a high level of technical expertise and deliver excellent customer service. One of your employees, who has been with the company for two years, is performing at a substandard level and you have received numerous complaints from customers and coworkers. In addition, this employee has displayed confrontational behavior which has created a hostile environment. You must now meet with this employee and deliver an ultimatum regarding the need for immediate improvement or dismissal."

1st Approach Method & Anticipated Response

I find it difficult to believe that an employee who had such a stellar customer service reputation would one day, turn bad. I believe the first thing I would do as the manager of this mid-sized company is to ask this employee to please come with me. However, I do not think my office would be a good place to chat as it could be intimidating to the employee and cause them to build a mental wall that would cause true communication to become hindered. I think I would probably take this employee somewhere casual, quiet, stress free and neutral. This would ensure that this employee would not automatically resort to an attitude, as this phase of my approach would be to step down (mentally) as a boss and show a human side. I personally believe this employee is going through something major and that is why the attitude and negative customer service has gotten so rampant. Once I was able to sit face to face with this employee, I think I would simply start a conversation with "how are you doing". It is short and sweet and can open many conversational doors. The reason for this conversation is to hopefully through a mental back door, discover a reason as to why this employee is not doing their best. Maybe they are having family problems, money issues or even job boredom.

2nd Approach Method & Anticipated Response

If this employee fails to provide any reason that could explain the behavior changes, I would mentally put my manager hat back on and explain that he or she is a valued member of this company, that they have always given excellent service. I would then explain the recent decline in quality and how it is impacting coworkers and customers. I would then strongly let them know that the customer always comes first and though they are a valued staff member of this company, negative customer service will not be tolerated. I would then make myself available to them personally and professionally depending on the issue that might be causing the negative customer service. If a family member is sick or they are having money issues, the company can help byway of possible sick pay which would allow them to be with their family member without fear of not being able to pay their bills. Or maybe they are struggling financially, the company may have some kind of program that would give assistance to employees byway of a short term loan. If the employee is just bored with the job, the company has the power to transfer them to a different department if that is the employee's desire. In any case, I simply feel that as humans, we must be sympathetic to others plights. If bad behavior comes on sudden, there is usually an underlying reason and maybe, it is fixable.

Collaborating with this employee gives them a sense that they are in charge of their own destiny (so to say). They are not a slave to the company, they are a valued member of the company family. This person has worked at this company for two years and has always been an excellent employee, why would the company ever want to lose such an amazing asset? Finding an agreeable solution to the situation and behavior makes everyone involved happy and that is after all, the best solution.