Businesses young and old can struggle with business productivity and keeping teams focused, but sometimes there are those cowboys that just don't want to play ball. A rogue employee, someone who just doesn't want to be part of the team or is someone with more sinister plans up their sleeve, can be very detrimental to a company. So when it comes to dealing with employees that either don't want to be part of a team or just are not receptive to the needs of everyone else, what can we do?
Sometimes, if there is someone who appears to be a rogue employee, we can look at preventing the cause of the behaviour, which means that we are stopping them dead in their tracks before they cause detrimental damage to the company. This is where the concept of team building can be very useful. Those rogue employees don't always want to be part of a team, and when we get involved in team building exercises this allows us, at the very outset, to spot if these people are going to benefit us in the long run. They may have the skills but they want to go about things their way. As much as autonomy is crucial, if we can prevent the causes of any rogue behaviour, this is far better than the cure.
The fact is that many employees can feel like they are able to get away with certain things, but this is where the code of conduct is so important. Employees need to be aware of the consequences of any breach, especially when it comes to rogue behaviour. While employees can stick to the rules, the fact is that you may want to consult with an HR department to understand how these employees can work better within the business.
Many people do not benefit from working in a team, and as there are so many remote employees now, you have to communicate the importance of the common goal. Everybody needs to be cognisant of what they all need to do to benefit the bigger picture. Rogue employees are people who are not necessarily aware of what it takes to achieve the overriding goal, but the fact is that they are working for you, so while you could go about your business by reminding them that they got a job to do, and you are in charge, it is far more productive to remind them of the reasons they are working in the first place. You can communicate the bigger picture, but also incorporate this with a number of other practices, such as rewarding employees for good behaviour and providing perks. These are all little things that could actually blindside a rogue employee and actually bring them around to your way of thinking.
It's not easy to have an employee who feels they are separate from the herd, but the reality is that when you are faced with this type of person, you could either find ways to let them go or you could do more to bring them into the flow.
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