4 Ways To Turn Difficult Employees Into Team Players

“Gettin’ good players is easy. Gettin’ them to play together is the hard part.” – Casey Stengel

While this is inevitable, you can work with different types of difficult employees and help them become easier to work with. Success may not be 100% definite but these 4 ways of turning difficult employees into team players may convert some low-performing, unmotivated, or insubordinate employees for the better.  

Communicate with them

Sometimes, difficult employees simply need a little more attention, so scheduling regular one-on-one meetings with them will show them that you care. During these meetings, try to make them feel comfortable opening up to you and offer compliments where possible for work they’ve achieved. 

Sometimes, difficult employees simply need a little more attention, so scheduling regular one-on-one meetings with them will show them that you care. During these meetings, try to make them feel comfortable opening up to you and offer compliments where possible for work they’ve achieved. 

Be sensitive

When dealing with difficult employees, it’s easy to get frustrated and lash out, for example by taking away certain workplace privileges or perks. This only leads to bigger disagreements and won’t achieve anything beneficial for your business.

A better way to address this is by trying to get to the root of the problem. Understanding employee behavior can help solve the main issue. For example, if they lost a close relative recently or are struggling with mental health problems or a difficult home situation. Once you identify the root cause and support them in any way you can, for example by providing counseling services for them, this will help them see that you care about them and encourage them to work better. 

Create opportunities for teamwork

There’s some merit to the concept of faking it until you make it when it comes to helping difficult employees become team players. You can pair some of your best employees with the challenging ones and assign a project to them that requires collaboration.

The repeated exposure to a teamwork environment will help them build up their skills when it comes to working with others. To prevent a situation where the best employees end up doing all the work, as is common with a lot of group projects, make sure you clearly outline what is expected of the whole team, as well as each member. 

Create a positive work environment

Fostering a positive work environment is important for many reasons. Employees feel more motivated to work and stay engaged when they feel happy and at peace where they’re working. 

In a good enough work environment, even difficult employees may feel encouraged to change their attitude and perform better. Some tips for creating such an environment include offering rewards or incentives for a job well done, as well as introducing wellness programs to ensure your employees’ well-being. 

“Teamwork makes the dream work.” – John C. Maxwell