In: Psychology
An employee recently transferred to your Department from another area within the organization. While you strongly encourage your staff to reach out to you with any questions at any time, this particular employee never contacts you. As a matter of fact, if you did not take affirmative steps to check in on the employee, you are not sure you would ever see him. The employee is a strong performer but it has become apparent that he routinely makes mistakes and only seeks help after a small problem becomes a significant issue. Many of these mistakes could have arguably been avoided by taking the time to have a quick conversation with you for help or guidance. You are familiar with this employee’s former supervisor and cannot help but wonder if the employee has been programmed with some bad habits. Most specifically, the former supervisor would berate people for seeking help or asking questions. The former supervisor expected everyone to know and do their jobs without any support from her. This manager did not believe her job was to support and mentor subordinates (she used to refer to that as “coddling” the workers). You never agreed with this management style and you suspect the employee is not coming to you with questions out of fear of reprimand.
What do you believe is the underlying problem in this scenario?
How would you propose to address this problem?
What type of follow-up will you need to do to ensure the employee’s behaviors are modified to meet your expectations?
If your coaching does not appear to have an impact on the employee’s behavior, what would be your next steps?