Dealing with Employee Resistance
By Elaine Boltz, CEAP, CLL, eboltz@lifemanagement.cc

Addressing employee performance problems can be difficult.  The goals are to help the employee understand the performance issues and also to develop an effective performance improvement plan (PIP) to assist the employee in bringing performance back up to expectations.  However, what do you do if you think the employee will become resistant?  How do you prepare for emotional responses?  If you are finding that you are hesitant to address performance issues because you are unsure of how to respond to employee resistance, here are some suggestions:

• Prepare an outline of what you will say in the employee meeting.  Treating the employee respectfully and acknowledging that they are a valuable part of the organization will provide a positive tone to the conversation.  Preparing what you could say helps you to respond rather than react if the employee is resistant.
• Clearly discuss the performance issue.  State the facts such as number of absences, specifics of customer complaints, specific safety issues or policy violations.
• Have a work improvement plan and clearly communicate the expectation that changes need to be made.  Detail what actions the employee will need to do to bring performance up to an acceptable level.
• Allow the employee time to respond.  Your willingness to be open to what the employee is saying provides an opportunity to respond in any number of ways that can enhance the performance, even if what the employee says is emotional or unpleasant.

Employees may respond in a variety of ways.  It is not uncommon for employees to try to change the subject or place the blame on others.  This resistance is best met by restating the purpose of the meeting and guiding the focus back to the employee's responsibility for his performance.

If the employee is crying or disclosing personal problems, a reminder of company support and EAP contact information is beneficial (if you have an EAP).

Silence may be golden but in this case it can be awkward.  Try allowing the employee to be silent, be silent yourself (pause) and reflect back that you notice the employee is being very quiet.  Sometimes this will create an opening for the employee to say what is on his or her mind.  Letting the employee know that you understand this is difficult may be helpful.

Some employees may express anger.  Acknowledge that you understand that they are upset but reinforce the facts and the need to make improvements.  Extreme agitation or an outburst is non-productive to the meeting.  If the employee is not able to regain composure in a brief amount of time, it is best to end the meeting.  Be sure to reschedule the meeting in short order, and consider having a peer of the opposite gender with you.

Treating the employee respectfully and keeping them engaged in the meeting will be helpful in conveying clear expectations for performance while giving them a plan to improve.  Addressing performance issues early and providing support and follow-up is beneficial to the employee as well as the organization.

Elaine Boltz, B.A., is the Employee Assistance Services Account Executive at Life Management Associates.  Contact Elaine at 717.394.6688 / 800.327.7770 or email eboltz@lifemanagement.cc

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