Shawnee Love   •  
January 13, 2011

In a previous article I talked about the three ways of dealing with a problem employee. Rehabilitating is the first option, and it is all about helping the problem employee get back on track.

Rehabilitation requires dedication and commitment on the part of the employee and the employer and works great with employees who don’t know they are doing something wrong and also with people who have been great in the past.

In any case, rehabilitation is almost always a good first try and worth your effort if there is any chance the employee will respond well and turn his or her performance around.

A key of rehabilitation is not letting your relationship with the employee deteriorate. That is, you must address the problem as soon as possible. I suggest the following steps to get an employee back on track:

Prepare– Figure out your expectations (what you want to have happening) and where the employee falls short (the problem),

Discuss– Communicate your expectations and the problem in a constructive fashion and collaborate on acceptable ways the employee can meet your expectations.

Follow Through– Follow up regularly and productively  to ensure the employee has improved.

Have you got something to add?