Apr 20, 2016
How to spot a complainer among your staff
They:
- Complain a lot and never take any action
- Have a victim mentality
- View themselves as powerless
- Have a strong sense of how things ought to be
- Profess they aren’t in control nor responsible for what goes wrong
How can we effectively manage them?
- Listen actively to their complaints to clearly understand what the issue is
- Don’t agree or apologise as this may encourage further behaviour
- Avoid accusing them of being petty as this may escalate the situation
- State and acknowledge facts without making comment
- Try to move them into problem solving mode
- Ask them how they would like to see the issue resolved and what they are going to do about it
Be persistent in using this approach and they may start to take some initiative in solving problems by themselves or, at least, think twice about coming to you.
Good luck!
For more information, take a look at New Horizons' Management and Leadership courses
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About the Author:
Trish Dobe
Trish has over 20 years of experience in organisational development, change management, and corporate learning & development both within Australia and overseas. As one of New Horizons' Professional Development trainers, Trish’s main focus is the delivery of solutions which enable organisations to measurably improve their performance. Trish specialises in the delivery of training programs in the areas of performance management, leadership, process improvement, sales and customer service. From a practical standpoint, she has held a number of roles varying from front-line through to senior management within a variety of commercial environments. With this, Trish brings her practical experience into the classroom and gives her the ability to engage professionals from junior to senior levels.
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