Situation: A CEO has two challenging employees. One is talented and learns quickly. However, he is an individual performer who only works well on his own. He feels that he should be paid more than the maximum available at his grade. The second individual will do anything, but generates a lot of overtime. He is  meticulous but has a high rework rate. How do you work with challenging people?

Advice from the CEOs:

• Offer a trial opportunity to the first individual, as follows.
  • Say a particular job is estimated to require 3 hours of labor. If he can finish it in 2, he will be paid the full 3 hours of labor. However, if rework is required, then the hours for that rework will get dinged against future work that is completed under-time.
  • This provides an opportunity to make more on each job – and the company the ability to bid and complete more jobs – but also means that if sloppy work is used to finish early, he will pay for this later.
  • Because this individual is a quick learner and is diligent, he is a good candidate for this program on a trial period basis. If it works, others may want to try the same deal, potentially cutting overtime and labor cost per job. This may also prompt them to assure that they have everything that they need before they start a job, cutting unproductive time and overtime.
• The second individual could be a cut-him-loose situation.
  • Take the individual aside and clearly express the expectations. If he indicates that he understands and will complete his work to expectations, tell him that you will work with him.
  • To assure that he clearly understands the instructions and expectations, ask him to repeat these back to you.
  • Emphasize the importance of making sure that he has the materials needed before going to a job, and the job is done correctly the first time.
  • If his response is “No, I can’t do that,” tell him that the company will help him to find another job, within reasonable bounds of time and effort.

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