Tell Me Again Your Excuses Why You Dont Work

A few years ago, Inc. came out with an article almost the worst excuses unproductive employees use when they don't get work washed.

As the boss, you've probably heard a lot of these:

"That's non my job."

"I have also much on my plate. I can't practice everything."

"I was waiting for more instructions."

"Why should I do information technology? I won't become credit. It doesn't aid me."

Etc.

The Frustrations of an Unproductive Worker

When you pay someone to get things washed for you, and and then they don't, information technology is understandably frustrating. The easy solution seems to be just burn down them. Then, hire someone ameliorate.

However, that isn't as easy or every bit productive every bit yous might retrieve. Bringing on a new worker is expensive and frequently inconvenient.

• Yous likely finish upwardly paying for ads or recruiting services.
• In the time you are hiring, you lot are either struggling to piece together the functions of the unfilled position or are still paying the unproductive worker to do it while you search for their replacement.
• One time you've spent the fourth dimension to get through resumes and acquit interviews, you have to negotiate benefits and salaries.
• It is estimated that taxes, insurance and other costs of bringing on a new employee, outside his or her salary, end up costing employers around $iv,000 per new employee.
• Then you lot have to train the new person.

You get the betoken.

Only here is the real kicker: if the excuses are part of your overall civilization, then it really doesn't matter if you become rid of all those unproductive workers – you are still going to exist plagued with excuses, excuses, excuses.

At that place is a better way. Simply create a civilization where excuses are non accepted or expected. To do that, follow these nine tips:

1.  Brand expectations obvious

If your employees take a problem recognizing your expectations, so there is a simple solution:

Make the expectations more than obvious.

What practice you lot expect your employees to do? When exercise you lot expect them to do it by?

When you map out all of the things that yous demand for that individual worker to do, then it becomes a lot harder for them to use the excuse, "I didn't know I was supposed to exercise that."

• Brand sure they know what tasks they accept been assigned.
• Never assign ane task to 2 or more people – that makes it piece of cake for each employee to merits they idea the other was working on information technology.
• Make certain that deadlines are clear.

Basically, just have steps to avert misunderstandings.

two.  Have a system of accountability

Pretend for a second that you lot are renting your office space. For potentially a really good reason, you are a few days late with the rent i month.

The owner doesn't say anything.

Adjacent month, yous don't have that really practiced reason anymore, only you don't feel similar taking it down and nobody said anything last month, so…

You are a few days late again. So the adjacent month and the adjacent and the next.

Finally, subsequently a long fourth dimension of you paying late because that is your new habit, the landlord kicks you out. You lot'd be a lilliputian surprised, right?

That is your employees' reaction when they are abruptly disciplined for behavior that you take turned a blind eye to for a long time.

Having a system of accountability makes employees responsible for their performance. When you lot don't lightly accept excuses, then people stop making them.

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If yous have formed the bad addiction of letting your workers get away with things they should not be doing, like slacking, then communicate with them that you volition no longer exist assuasive that to get on.

Brand a point to admit that you have let things slide in the past, but that nether the new system, you will be doing a better task of it.

And then, when someone doesn't become their piece of work done, figure out why. If it is because they are making excuses, then you lot can deal with information technology in the advisable fashion. If it is because of legitimate reasons, then y'all can take the steps to assistance them overcome their barriers.

Peter Bregman wrote about how to keep employees accountable in an article for The Harvard Business concern Review. His suggestions include:

• Setting articulate expectations – which, if you are post-obit bespeak one, you are already doing;
• Assigning tasks to the right people;
• Having set measurements;
• Offering appropriate feedback; and
• Ensuring people are aware of the consequences.

3.  Get regular status updates

Another way to ensure excuses are eradicated is to get regular status updates. Whether this is through meetings, emails or other technology, status updates make employees stay on their toes.

If you lot are supposed to say where you are in the process every week or so, then information technology makes information technology a lot harder to become downwardly to the wire and say you don't have it done.

Information technology too makes it a lot more likely that you as the leader will encounter that work isn't being done long before it is actually due. Which, in plough, makes it piece of cake to help the worker get back on runway.

4.  Monitor workloads

As noted above, 1 common excuse you lot probably hear for why work isn't being washed is that workers take likewise much on their plate.

When information technology comes to this excuse, there are actually only two rationales:

1. It is only an excuse.
2. It is the truth.

Either way, though, keeping track of workloads makes this excuse really fixable.

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Let u.s.a. say that an employee isn't getting things done considering she says her workload is too big. Nonetheless, that is just an alibi. Nearly workers of her skill set up and role could and should handle her workload.

By being able to quickly come across everything she has on her plate, you can talk to her about why she feels she cannot handle the workload her peers are handling.

Mayhap there is a health or family unit problem going on, which might be temporary. Peradventure she just isn't feeling motivated. Whatever the reason, sitting down and looking at her workload will assist clear things up.

On the other manus, let us say that this worker is 100% correct. She is doing the work of multiple people, and it would be crazy to think ane person could be getting all that done.

When yous come up face to face up with all of the work yous are asking one person to do, yous might realize that you are expecting too much. Then, you can adjust schedules, assignments and priorities appropriately.

v.  Create prioritization guidelines

I don't know nearly you, just I very rarely have a day when I just have one thing that I'm working on. In fact, I ofttimes accept to create a listing of everything I need and/or want to accomplish throughout the day.

If I didn't sit and hash out priorities every one time and a while, and then I might not know where to start or what I demand to practice first.

That is true for your employees besides. Help articulate upwards priorities. That way, they piece of work on the things that matter the virtually and go out the filler projects for another time.

6.  Testify employees their value

Nobody likes doing busy work. People want to experience like they are making a deviation. Because of this it shouldn't be a surprise to see that the list of mutual excuses has, "I don't run into the benefit for me."

That is why it is so important to create a organization that shows employees how the tasks you are assigning them fit into the big picture.

• Why is their function important?
• How does the assignment aid them brand a difference?
• How practice they chronicle to the ultimate vision of the company?

7.  Offer appreciation for a chore well-done

Even the best employees can start to slack if they don't feel appreciated – which is why non getting credit for their work is an excuse they use when they aren't productive.

In fact, look at the findings from a recent University of Warwick study: happy employees are 12% more productive and unhappy workers are ten% less productive. While there are many other factors that lead to happy workers, i such style to elevate happiness is merely to make them feel appreciated.

In order to counteract this, make sure yous let your employees know y'all capeesh their hard work. There are lots of means to practise this.

• Say thank you when an assignment is done well.
• Accept an annual event where you thank everyone at in one case.
• Do a smaller, monthly event where yous give thanks everyone.
• Think of something fifty-fifty better, and do that.

8.  Create a culture where teamwork is valued

Nobody should ever get away with saying, "That'south not my job." And when teamwork is valued and expected, it probably won't be.

In a culture where teamwork is the norm, there is no 'me,' merely there is a whole lot of 'we.' Siloed workers are not productive workers. Departments should be interconnected.

You can achieve this by keeping things transparent and working to make an environment where everyone helps anybody else and the entire place is working towards ane mission and vision.

9.  Bear witness the importance of failure

Some of the final excuses listed in the Inc. article bargain a little with insecurity:

• Employees are afraid to fail.
• They aren't sure of all the answers.
• They don't sympathise all of the variables.

Yet, as has been said many times before, there is no reward without risk. Fear can seriously injure your productivity, nonetheless sometimes failure is the outset step to figuring out the next big affair.

There is a way to assist overcome this excuse, though:

Allow your workers some amount of freedom to endeavor things. A lot of fearfulness of failure comes from the culture. If they meet others existence punished for their failures, they aren't going to desire to accept any chances.

So, create an surroundings where failure is not jeered at, merely learned from.

Eliminate Excuses, Amend Productivity

Obviously if an employee is just a bad worker, then you might exist better of getting rid of him or her. However, that should not exist your first determination.

If your workers are offer you more and more excuses for not getting their work done, then sit dorsum and figure out why.

Is it something that is prevalent in your workplace considering of the systems that you have in place?

If that is the case, don't overreact – just do a little scrap of changing of your own.

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