Don't punish the efficient ones
Have you ever been to a hotel where out of four bellmen, three stood around chatting, while the fourth struggled back and forth pushing a heavily-loaded luggage trolley? Or did you dine at a fairly busy restaurant, where one or two servers struggled to fulfil everyone’s orders, while five more servers hung around the service area, idly chatting? Have you patiently waited in a queue at a petrol station where only one attendant is pumping petrol, while five more attendants hang back in the background, oblivious to the unoccupied petrol pumps that could easily thin out the queue and make everyone happier? This is what happens when some employees are used and others are allowed to slack off.
Humans look to shirk
This kind of behaviour is not new. Many humans have gained a knack for trying to work as little as possible, relying on others to shoulder the load. The smarter ones will try to “look busy”. They may disappear into the storeroom for half an hour, under the pretence of trying to find something for their job fulfilment, or fake computer issues that make it hard for them to receive e-mails. But, the more blatant ones will hang around gossiping while their colleagues take on their workload. And yes, they do this under the noses of management.
Why does this happen?
You see, this happens because management creates a conducive environment for it. Managers will often take the easy way out, by heaping more work on to the efficient and hardworking employees, rather than dealing with the less desirable task of pulling up the slackers. It could also be that the slackers have become the darlings of management, enjoying favouritism and preferential treatment.
What are the futures Implications?
Well, what’s going to happen is, the uber-efficient employees are going to start looking for jobs elsewhere. Sooner or later, they will get tired of shouldering the workload of their colleagues. They will start to feel misused, overworked, resentful, and taken advantage of. So, they will quietly start looking for jobs. And you won’t know it, until the day that they hand in their resignation, and the whole house of cards falls apart. Some of them might also resort to “quiet quitting”, where they slowly reduce their productivity until it just matches their job performance requirements and KPIs. They will no longer perform above and beyond, or go the extra mile. Hence, your business will suffer.
What can you do to fix this?
It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but there’s no other way. You’ve got to ensure that the slackers pull up their socks. That’s why it’s important to maintain clearly defined KPIs and performance standards for all employees, and benchmark them against these. Then, if you need to terminate an employee for continual non-performance of job duties, you have reason and evidence to do so.
Furthermore, refrain from developing intense personal relationships with employees, or engaging in favouritism simply because an employee brings you your coffee every morning, or has a pleasant face. Instead, look toward fair treatment and evaluation of all employees, and ensure that everyone does their share of the work. Because it’s not only your best employees who will quit, it’s also your customers who will notice the clear discrepancy. And they’ll start talking about it within their networks too. In fact, you might even find your best employees happily working for one of your customers!
Ashraaq Wahab– Director of Marketing/Sales and Technical - Hospitality Sri Lanka, Automotive Journalist, Marketer, Photographer and Writer, who enjoys penning his thoughts, insights and ideas on a variety of topics.
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