How to Deal with Top Talent with an Awful Attitude

22 May 2017

How To Deal With Top Talent With An Awful Attitude (1)

​You’ve hit the jackpot with this employee. They outperform everyone when it comes to dedication and hard work. But you’ve got a problem. This employee has an awful attitude that is threatening to destroy your team. They complain about the company, you and the team, and antagonise those they work with – but what can you do?

You have to weigh up what’s more important. Is this person irreplaceable? It can be a tricky decision but if this employee has the potential to drag morale down or encourage distrust in the company, you might be left with no choice.

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Here are 3 things to think about:

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1) Are There Genuine Issues to Be Addressed?

You don’t want to dive right into disciplinary action if in fact, this employee has some legitimate concerns. Have other employees expressed worries about the same issues (in maybe not so quite an aggressive way)? Don’t automatically assume this person is completely irrational; this could lead to other disgruntled employees.

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2) Honesty is the Best Policy

So you’ve established you’ve just got a complainer on your hands. Other employees find their attitude draining and irritating. What do you do now? Maybe it’s time for a chat. You’re well within your rights to pull employees up on their disruptive attitude. Try and get to the bottom of the problem and not be too confrontational - it might be personal issues that are fuelling a bad attitude. Especially if you ideally don’t want to lose this employee.

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3) Nothing Seems to Be Working

You’ve talked to them about it. You’ve talked to your boss about it. But nothing is changing. You still overhear complaints from them, and about them around the office. Is it time to talk to HR? What are you legally able to do about it?

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Ultimately if you in charge of a team, morale is a key factor in efficiency and employee retention. If you have one bad egg damaging that company atmosphere, you can’t just go by ignoring it. It’s your responsibility to think of what’s overall the best for the team; knowing how to deal with the attitude of your top talent is integral to a successful and happy team.