Most organizations have employees who on occasion:
But Toxic Employees have interpersonal styles that demonstrate a pattern of counter-productive work behaviors. While Emotionally Intelligent employees being aware of their feelings &those of others exhibit a pattern of appropriate self-management.The toxic employee problem is surprisingly prevalent with research showing:
• 95% of employees have &64% are currently working with a toxic employee
• 50% of employees have thought of quitting & 12% did because of a toxic employee
• 25% of employees have reduced their work effort due to a toxic employee
• 20% of employees feel they are a target weekly & 10% of employees see toxic behavior daily
Toxic employees cause significant overt, covert, people-related &financial damage with their visible behavior just being the tip of the iceberg. For example, in one organization the day a former employee left the organization is considered one of their annual holidays.
Session Highlights:
I. Human & Financial Costs Resulting from Toxic Employees
II. The A, B, and C’s Related to Toxic Employees
III. The Psyche of a Toxic Employee
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Frequently seen toxic behaviors
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Utilize ‘star status’ & technical expertise to intimidate & manipulate
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A chameleon who knows who to flatter & who he/she can abuse Turn their toxicity on & off depending on the impression they want to make
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Three common forms of toxic behavior
IV. Common Reactions to Toxic Employees that frequently Don’t Work
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Restructuring his/her job to accommodate the toxic employee
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Tolerating toxic employees who bring rare expertise or experience
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Not assertively seeking feedback from employees as to whether there is toxic behavior in the workplace
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Not communicating to all employees, the specific behaviors that will not be tolerated – with associated consequences
V. Effective Approaches for Addressing & Preventing Toxicity Organization-wide strategies:
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Making positive interpersonal behavior organizational value
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Evaluating interpersonal behavior as a part of the performance appraisal system
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Training leaders in how to address toxic behavior
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Using behavioral-based interview questions to screen toxic applicants
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Exit interviewing to identify any toxic behavior in the workplace
Departmental &team strategies:
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Defining appropriate interpersonal interactions with behavior-specific descriptions & standards
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Using team discussions & role play to clarify the application of the behavioral descriptions & standards
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Utilizing a 360-degree feedback process to assess the work environment
One-on-one strategies:
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Stating explicitly that the behavior is not acceptable& why
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Describing both the unacceptable & acceptable behavior
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Asking the employee to commit to & describe how he/she will change his/her behavior
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Frequent, targeted counseling feedback
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Executive coaches
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Progressive discipline
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Termination
But even terminations are not a cure-all because the:
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Toxic-enabling people & organizational culture tendencies may remain
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Employees may still be resentful of the way they were treated by the employee & the time it took the organization to react
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Expertise & experience of the toxic employee are lost
Why you should attend:
Clever toxic employees:
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Utilize their technical expertise to intimidate & manipulate
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Know who to flatter & who they can abuse
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Turn their toxicity on & off depending on the impression they want to make
Unfortunately, organizations can work against themselves & even promote toxicity by:
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Restructuring his/her job to accommodate a toxic employee
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Tolerating toxic employees who have valued expertise
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Not assertively seeking employee feedback as to whether there is toxic behavior in the workplace
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Not communicating to all employees the specific interpersonal behaviors that will not be tolerated – with the associated consequences.
Managers sometimes attempt to fix this type of problem by addressing a toxic employee's attitude. And while a toxic employee's attitude certainly affects his/her behavior, managers usually find that controlling an employee's attitude is next to impossible.
Managers can be much more effective by:
Who should attend:
Anyone with managerial or leadership responsibility
*You may ask your Question directly to our expert during the Q&A session.
** You can buy On-Demand and view it at your convenience.