Does employee talent outweigh the trouble that trouble-makers bring?

I told my doctor that I broke my leg in two places. He told me to stop going to those two places. (Henny Youngman)

It's a ridiculous concept; that we would return time and time again to a place where we know we are going to get hurt, but in business, we do it all the time.

You can spot a broken leg via x-ray (and sometimes even without one); but the injuries I'm talking about don't show up to the naked eye, which may be why we neither treat nor work to prevent them. What am I talking about? We constantly allow individuals within our businesses to 'injure' or even 'kill' initiatives, employee morale, customer relations and more.

Under the auspices of loyalty to employees or the value we perceive they bring to the business, we overlook, make excuses for, tolerate and even facilitate cynicism, narcissism, gossip, turf wars and negativism from certain employees.

You know who I'm talking about — employees who regularly pooh-pooh your marketing and event ideas, who belittle, cut down and minimize the accomplishments of others out of envy, who flaunt their disdain for rules by ignoring the standards you try to set for employees in the areas of appearance, timeliness, productivity, retail sales, etc.

If there were such a ridiculous place in your life (like, say a grocery store) where you knew you would always receive an injury, how often would you go there? How many times can you allow others to injure coworkers, harm your business or do damage to your customer relationships?

Were you to do a cost-analysis of this type of behavior, you would likely find that the damage these individuals are doing to your business, to their co-workers, and to your customer-relations far outweighs the (real or perceived) value you believe they bring to your business.

Employer loyalty is a wonderful quality; but is it fair to extend loyalty to individuals who do not return that spirit through their actions in support of your initiatives, in support of their co-workers, in productivity and professional growth? Not only is it unfair to you and to your business, it is also unfair for the other individuals who have to work with them, and, ultimately, it is extremely unfair to expect your customers to extend loyalty to you when the services and care you provide for them are compromised by these individuals.

But (you say) we're talking about people, and people aren't all good or all bad, and some of them have great skills and among their clientele are long-time clients my business can't afford to lose.

Yes, we are talking about people and yes, many times highly flawed people are also incredibly talented; but let me put it another way.

Let's say you have an acquaintance that cooks a wonderful lunch, the best lunch you've ever had. But every time you go there for lunch, you are assured of receiving a sucker punch to the gut, a kick in the chin, or a slap in the face. How often would you want to lunch there, no matter how spectacular the food? This is how it feels for other employees when they are the target of belittling comments or gossip from other employees. This is how it feels for customers when they are mistreated while at your business or on the phone with that one bad apple on your customer service team. This is how you probably feel when you go into a staff meeting excited about a new idea, only to have the negative person on your staff blow it all to pieces.

Furthermore, as you have probably heard before, you should reward people who consistently demonstrate behaviors that you want more of. By rewarding those who exhibit defiance, discourteous behavior, disdain and negativity, you are ensuring that you will receive more of the same behavior. You are also demonstrating to other employees that these techniques work; not only are you discouraging employees who are excited about their work and your business, you are also showing those who may have similar negative inclinations that this behavior is acceptable and effective.

Am I advocating a slash and burn employment policy? No. But I am suggesting that those rare individuals who cannot be persuaded to bring a spirit of positive support (or at least neutrality!) to the workplace where your marketing and client-relations ideas are concerned, who will not endorse your policies and standards, and who regularly hurt other employees or even offend clients themselves, are in the wrong place.

First, they are in the wrong place on the inside. They should be in a profession and in a business that they can endorse intellectually and philosophically. They should be excited about their work and should be just as enthusiastic to try a new marketing technique or hold a new event as they are to do something new that they personally enjoy. They should be able to extend (sincere) congratulations and encouragement to their co-workers in the same way that they would want to be supported. They should be in a place where they are comfortable adhering to standards of dress, conduct, and interpersonal communications.

If not, then they are in the wrong place on the outside, and may need to find another organization in which to work. Your job, as a manager of people is to encourage them either to discover whether they can change 'where they are' on the inside, or to change where they are on the outside (and seek other employment). Your obligation to sustain and grow your business, and to protect and develop your other employees outweighs the obligation you believe you have to retain an employee who is in 'the wrong place.'

You might also enjoy the employee-management tips in my guest-post on bloggingbistro.com [CLICK HERE] to read "Beer me! Use the 45 day rule to build and strengthen relationships."

Elizabeth Kraus – 12monthsofmarketing.com
365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com in book and digital formats.