Readers Respond: Tips for Dealing With Deadbeat Employees

Deadbeat employees exist in every workplace. No matter how you define a deadbeat employee, it's not pleasant to work for or with a deadbeat employee. Supervising a deadbeat employee is the worst. Do you have tips for working with deadbeat employees? Absolutely. Won’t you take a moment and share your favorite tips for dealing with deadbeat employees?

See also Coworkers From Hell. Find more Reader Responses to various workplace questions.

Performance Tracking Form?

You mention in your article that, Appropriate form should be used and if you wish I can share one." I would love a copy of the form if you wouldn't mind sharing. (Hi, I can't find where I said this, but perhaps this form will work: http://humanresources.about.com/od/discipline/a/discipline_form.htm)

—Guest Dee

@ Unqualified Candidates

You cater to languages from other countries? You accommodate them by having many items in their native language. Thus, this catering to other languages, reinforces the concept to non-natives that there is no need to learn English. You are a perfect example of Spanish becoming a second language. Spanish is everywhere. Granted, all is not bad, but if you go to Mexico, Germany, Spain, Russia and elsewhere, there is no catering to English whatsoever. You, as a visitor, or immigrant, are expected to learn the host country's language. If you do not learn it, you cannot function in it unless you find someone who speaks it. The other countries do not accommodate English in most places. One could say the language is a job skill, like COBOL, but because you cater to other languages, now we as AMERICANS have to learn a foreign language to work in AMERICA. This is simply bad policy.

—Guest American

Managing inadequate performance

- Convince them that they are poor performers by analysing their actual achievements versus expected level of performance. - Thereafter provide coaching or counselling services according to the situation. -Then put them under a process of managing inadequate performance with a timeframe of 3 months. ( Appropriate form should be used and if you wish I can share one.) Simultaneously they can be hooked on to a mentor as the case may be. - After 3 months review the performance and if found no improvement then you may transfer the services to other areas according to the merit of individual case. - Again if found no improvement then discontinue the services. While going through this process please put in writing and get the commitment of the employee as well.

—Guest Jose Palatty