Do you sometimes have staff who fail to do what you want them to do? Most owners and managers run into this situation to varying degrees. How can you tell if a staff member genuinely needs help or if they are actually working against you?

Here’s the key: A staff member who is truly not working with you as a team player continually fails to comply with what you want done.

There is a sequence here that needs to be followed so that you don’t jump to conclusions. Sometimes a staff member doesn’t comply because they really don’t understand something about what you have instructed them to do or why it needs to be done.

This is how you determine what action to take:

1) Put what you want done in writing with it clearly stated as to why. Be sure to indicate by when this is to be done.

2) If not done by the specified time, meet with the staff member and go over each point and see if there is anything they didn’t understand. Also see if there is any real reason why this couldn’t or shouldn’t be done.

3) Clear up any confusion.

4) Have the staff member sign the original instruction attesting that they understand it.

5) Reissue the instruction with the date of when this needs to be completed.

6) If still no compliance, issue it again.

7) If still no compliance, then it is clear that you have a person who is not working with you and therefore is working against you.

8) Handle accordingly.

Note: You do need to ensure that what you are ordering to be done is something that can be done. For example, it is not realistic to order fifty 1040s to be completed within the next two hours, and, of course, you need to make sure that the staff member is trained to do what you ask of them. If they are not, this would be obvious when you meet with them after the first non-compliance.