Dealing with employees that aren’t team players can be difficult, whether it’s due to poor collaboration in group tasks, a lack of communication, or a refusal to embrace your company’s culture.
The actions business owners should take to incorporate the more challenging people on their team are examined in this article by Rapid Formations.
Examine the evidence
Determine the severity of the issue before engaging in any kind of discourse. It extends beyond a person not being a team player if they have not turned in a piece of work for a group project or if there is a potential bullying situation. Instead, you should handle this appropriately with the required disciplinary measures.
You can adopt a softer, more forgiving stance, though, if the person is generally performing their duties but occasionally engages in troublesome behavior when working in a group or just isn’t fully integrated into the business (for instance, they consistently decline to participate in team events).
Speak with the worker
Have a casual conversation with the impacted employee. Instead of accusing them, express your satisfaction with their overall performance but pointing out a few occasions where they should have shown greater consideration for their teammates. Take the employee through these instances while outlining different approaches they could take in the future.
Where appropriate, include other impacted employees in the meeting as well. Then, collaborate to find a solution.
Also, you must listen during this meeting. The person may be experiencing problems (at work or at home) that cause them to withhold when working in a team environment. If there are any issues, find out how you can help. This might become regular 1-2-1 meetings so you can check in on them frequently to see how they’re doing.
Know when to avoid action
It’s possible that the person in issue is doing their job well but hasn’t developed strong bonds with their coworkers. While you should make every effort to promote this, it’s equally critical to understand that you cannot force this to happen.
Sometimes you should just thank the person for the strengths they provide and leave it at that, so long as the necessary task is getting done and no one is being harmed.
Of course, there will be occasions when it’s best for all parties concerned if you propose a person look for work elsewhere if they are typically dissatisfied in their role and you are unable to help them.
Provide the required assistance
Take the appropriate actions to help the employee if you have identified a specific reason why they are having trouble working in a team environment.
Find a different section of the office where they can work if they need a quiet space to do some duties (or consider introducing hybrid working). If they have trouble interacting with others, look into confidence-boosting training programs. Look for ways to make their workload more doable if they are anxious.
You will improve the person’s overall well-being and have a beneficial effect on your business by assisting with any obstacles.
Reward your team consistently
By frequently organizing gatherings that enable people to come together in a setting free from work-related stress, you can give your team a lift. All team members should be invited to these gatherings, but nobody should be coerced into going.
These gatherings serve as ongoing opportunities for team members who are on the outside looking in but only need a little push to love their coworkers and corporate culture.
Gratitude for reading
You now know what to do if a worker doesn’t play well with others.
It is your responsibility as a business owner to take all reasonable steps to ensure that an employee succeeds in your workplace and, whenever possible, develops into a team member. To increase your chances of succeeding at this, pay attention to the advice provided in this article.