Every crew has one or several problem workers—individuals who repeatedly violate standard operating procedure. This poses significant safety challenges as the consequences of non-compliance can mean anything from equipment damage or fines to environmental disasters or fatalities.
Luckily, there are simple things supervisors can learn in order to earn compliance from even their most challenging worker. Here are five practical steps for getting problem workers to comply.
Step 1: Understanding
Before attempting to change someone’s behavior, it’s important to first understand why he or she doesn’t comply. Three methods to understand the causes of non-compliance are:
- Observation: Direct or indirect observation of the worker in his natural working environment. Look for how he interacts with co-workers and the way he approaches his work.
- Active Listening: Request feedback directly from the worker and her co-workers and listen intently. Pay special attention to body language and tone of voice to indicate sincerity.
- Information Analysis: Review performance reports, personality assessment reports, and other data to uncover what may be beneath the service. For many non-compliant people, their defiance is driven by natural “default” personality settings that make them resistant to change.
Using one or all three of these methods will further your understanding of your workers and help you implement the next four steps.
Step 2: Training & Coaching
Now that you know why the employee doesn’t comply, it’s time to provide relevant and personalized training and coaching. This can be accomplished through:
- Confirmation: Ensure that the worker understands what is expected of him in his role and identify any real or perceived obstacles in the way of him achieving his goals.
- Clarification: Explain the reasons behind the rules in order to earn buy-in from workers who may have a natural predisposition to ignore rules and authority. Be sure to remind them of the consequences of non-compliance with real-world stories and examples to improve understanding.
- Course Selection: Select training and development courses that match the learning objectives and learning styles of the individual worker in order to maximize training return on investment.
Note: Tailored education, training, and coaching are significantly more effective at improving safety-related behaviors than a one-size-fits-all approach.
Step 3: Commitment
A worker knowing she needs to change is one thing. The next step is getting genuine, sincere commitment. Working in partnership with the problem worker, try setting goals related to larger organizational objectives. These goals should be measurable and reachable, but challenging enough to capture the worker’s attention and motivate her accordingly.
Step 4: Enablement
Sometimes non-compliance is not about the individual at all. Rather, some working environments keep people from achieving behavior modification. Take every step you can to remove any barriers to compliance, real or perceived. One popular approach is to implement an open-door policy that invites employees to share their feedback openly and without prejudice. Whichever approach you use, just ensure you’re not the one keeping your workers from successfully improving their at-work behaviors.
Step 5: Improvement
This step is not exclusive to behavior modification, but can be applied to any program you implement across the board. A great program is constantly improving, so do your best to continually measure and optimize the behavior modification process. Look first at how your employees react to the process, determine if they’re making any progress, and then see if the program itself needs improvement. Rest assured, there’s always room for improvement, so your time will be well worth it.
A Final Word
Compliance is important to a safe workplace. When one mistake can lead to potentially catastrophic consequences, the stakes are never higher. By looking at direct reports as individuals with unique needs and personalities, you can earn compliance from even your most challenging workers—one step at a time.
Learn more about how behavior modification can even get problem workers to comply by downloading this free guide: http://www.talentclick.com/resources/your-complete-guide-to-getting-problem-workers-to-comply/
Greg Ford is the co-founder and CEO of TalentClick Workforce Solutions Inc., a Vancouver-based Personality Risk Assessment provider, and an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University. Ford holds a degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Workplace Learning. A member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers, Ford has more than 15 years’ experience in Human Resources consulting and has helped many organizations improve safety and enhance productivity through workforce education and innovative behavioral approaches. His core specialties are psychometric testing and workplace learning. Ford is and his articles have been published in numerous magazines and journals such as Workplace Today, Mining Engineering, Canadian HR Reporter and People Talk. For more information, visit www.talentclick.com or e-mail marketing@talentclick.com.
