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Managing the Four Employee Behaviors |
This article was written by Nick Staffieri, Senior Operations Manager at MCS Management Services and was originally published in Supervision Magazine.
Managers are faced with many personnel challenges in today's workforce. Managing employees can sometimes be more time-consuming than any other function and more costly if not done properly. To properly manage employees, a manager must first understand what his responsibility level is in managing them. Guidance and development is necessary to build and retain great employee behavior. To build and retain an acceptable employee behavior, a manager must first identify what type of behavior an individual employee is displaying.
Breaking down types of behavior, we can categorize each employee into four major behavior groups.
| A ) Can – Will |
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– This employee has the skills and is proud to perform the work. |
| B ) Can – Won’t |
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– This employee has the skills, but does not want to perform the job. |
| C ) Can’t – Will |
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– This employee can’t perform the work, but will try. |
| D ) Can’t – Won’t |
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– This employee can’t perform the job and won’t perform the job. |
Once a manager has identified what type of behavior the employee is displaying, it becomes important to properly respond to the behavior. Building a great employee behavior all starts with the type of response to each unacceptable behavior. As you can see, the last three behavior types should be unacceptable. A great manager should develop a plan for corrective action before passing judgment on the employee. Below is an analysis of each category and potential corrective action to help each type of employee become a great performer. |
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D ) Can't – Won't
This is an individual who does not have the skills or initiative to perform his responsibilities. On the surface, this seems to be a major problem in the workforce. Why should this individual continue to be employed? Before we can pass judgment or properly discipline this employee, a great manager must analyze the motivation behind the behavior. Think of the scenario of a new employee on his first day of work. He reports to work at 8:00am and waits to be greeted by his supervisor or co-workers. Without the involvement of a supervisor or lead staff member, this employee is powerless to perform any office task. There is no motivation to perform. We must look at all can't-won't employees with the same mentality. Perhaps the employee won't perform a task because he can't. Unskilled workers tend to be hesitant in their job performance due to the risk of making mistakes. They would rather be told what and how to do things rather than take the initiative to learn it themselves. The truth is that they should not have to learn it themselves. As managers, we must recognize this hesitancy and adjust our actions to resolve the core problem. Proper training can develop technical skills and give the employees confidence to perform their job responsibilities. As the employee builds his skills, he becomes more confident. There is also no question from management that the employee can perform the job function.
Proper training, however, is only half the battle. The acquisition of job skills turns this employee into a Can – Won't employee. |
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C ) Can – Won't
The can-won't employee is perhaps the most frustrating and difficult individual to manage. A can-won't employee is not necessarily an individual who refuses to perform his job duties. Not recognizing a true can-won't employee is a dangerous trap for a manager. Every manager has dealt with at least one employee during their career that has such great job skills and potential, but just never steps forward to achieve those future growth opportunities. The manager knows that with the knowledge and technical skills, this employee should be doing more for the department or organization. This employee is typically not a team player and becomes defensive when asked to help out in other areas. Not only is this disappointing as a manager and an organization who has invested money and training time, it is also frustrating to continuously evaluate the lack of energy or drive in this individual to become a superior customer service representative or to advance his career. Yet we keep this employee because of the proficiency in which he handles the production.
The key to responding to this employee behavior is to identify the core problem. There can be several reasons for the lack of motivation to excel beyond the delegated responsibilities.
- The employee doesn't feel skilled or qualified – this leads back to proper guidance, support and training. Employees need to feel confident in their job skills to perform well. This confidence allows employees to begin to take on greater responsibilities and even become involved in problem resolutions and decision making. Managers should welcome and support this type of behavior. Without proper guidance and training, the employee is handicapped to perform only what he knows or is comfortable doing.
- The employee doesn't understand the reasons – proper communication explaining the importance of the value-added performance may be all that is necessary to motivate the employee. If the employee doesn't think that the job or project is important, he will not likely want to put any effort into it.
- The employee doesn't feel appreciated for the work – this is the "why should I if nobody cares" attitude. Employees always want to feel appreciated for their performance. If managers do not genuinely praise good behavior, this attitude is inevitable and can be a contributing factor in the lack of initiative to do more.
- The employee doesn't get recognition for the work – similar to feeling appreciated, some employees crave recognition. Managers should outwardly recognize employees for their achievements. When holding team meetings, it is always motivating for an employee to be highlighted as an important member of a successful project. Upon seeing such recognitions given, employees will want to become more involved with upcoming projects.
- The employee doesn't see incentives for the work – this is the "what's in it for me" attitude. Many managers tend to shy away from providing incentives because they only think in monetary terms. There are many creative ways to reward employees that do not require the use of company funds. Managers should explore these opportunities to reward employees for outstanding achievements.
Each individual employee has a different motivation for performing well. Managers must first identify what motivation is required and then set an action plan to best optimize the employee's skills. Proper motivation helps the employee want to do well. Once this employee sees incentives for performing value added responsibilities and sets future growth goals, he will want to further his responsibilities. This could lead to an employee who wants to increase responsibility level. This may also lead to an employee who requires further training and development to reach the next level.
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B ) Can't – Will
Can't-Will employees seem quite easy to manage. A can't-will employee has a pleasant attitude and is always willing to assist. He will get involved in the production and projects. The problem with the can't-will employee is that there are mistakes in the work performed. It is easy for a manager to sit back and allow mistakes to happen. The downside is all the time spent correcting the mistakes and responding to the complaints. What happens next is that these mistakes begin to be analyzed and the employee performance is evaluated. Too many production mistakes by one individual leads to an unfortunate termination. What the manager fails to realize is that the pleasant attitude and desire to work in that employee is so valuable in a customer service oriented operation. These types of personalities are difficult to find. Therefore, we must learn to retain the can't-will employees whenever possible. Managers must analyze the specific job function for this employee and understand why mistakes are happening. Perhaps this employee needs further training to complete the skill level necessary to perform the job functions. Or it could be that the training method is not suitable or compatible with the learning habits of the employee. The manager must also analyze whether or not this job function is best suited for the employee. A great manager can utilize people¥s skills in the most efficient ways to form a complete team. Training for a can't-will employee should be handled in a constructive manner by a lead clerk or supervisor. It is important to keep the employee motivated during training sessions and not lose them to their own dejection. Telling an employee they are not performing up to expectations, especially in an open environment, could be devastating to a sensitive personality. Managers must show compassion in giving the employee further training and guidance. If done properly, the rewards are well worth the effort. Proper motivation and increased level of responsibility can turn the employee into a Can-Will employee. |
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A ) Can – Will
Congratulations. You have a top notch employee. This employee is always your go-to guy. His skills are great and he is always willing to get involved and take a lead role in production and customer service. Need someone to work overtime? He'll jump at the opportunity and not let you down. What a great employee to have around.
So what is there to worry about with a can-will employee? Too many managers take these employees for granted. A can-will employee still needs proper motivation and incentives to keep his performance at a high level. He needs to be recognized as a team leader and given proper guidance for future growth opportunities. Too often, these employees do not receive the proper attention from managers. The result can be either slipping into any of the other categories, or even worse, losing the employee to other opportunities outside the organization where his efforts will be rewarded. The great manager keeps this employee well rewarded and continues to find new challenges and growth opportunities for him.
Great employees are built by great managers. By identifying what behavior type each employee displays, managers can properly respond and create a team of high achievers. Once that occurs, managing your personnel becomes such an easy task. And don't forget the donuts on Friday thanking them for that. |
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