Dealing With Sensitive Staff Problems - A Mini Guide | MarkMeets | Celebrity News, Music, Movies, TV, London Film Premieres

The people you hire are just that, people, with all of the tangling personal situations and varied experiences they go through. This is, of course, quite obvious. But sometimes, these personal affairs can also affect their ability to work capably at their jobs, even if they would like to do nothing more than this, and even if their intent repeatedly proves to be in good faith.

It’s also true that to a certain extent, the personal lives of your staff are none of your business. If a staff member is getting divorced from their partner, aside from ensuring an open-door policy and allowing them PTO when it’s requested in advance, there’s no much you could or should do in order to ameliorate the situation.

For this reason, it’s important to know how to deal with sensitive staff problems, sensitively. Furthermore, the extent to which you should ‘deal with them’ may differ. In this post, we’ll discuss a few measures you can use, guided by the wisdom of the best HR consultancy:

Open Door Policies, Private Reporting, Confidentiality

It’s important to have an open door policy when it comes to caring for staff. Just having a private space where they can come and report issues, explain difficulties, or even pass their caring concerns about other staff members is key. Furthermore, it’s essential to make sure that harassment, bullying and discrimination can be reported with care, so that those who are affected by any of these understand the no-tolerance policy your firm has, and that their case will be handled correctly, respectfully, and with utmost confidence.

Making Adjustments Where Necessary

In many cases, a sensitive staff issue might encourage you to accommodate a staff member that has been with you for some time. If your receptionist loses a family member, for instance, you may allow for longer paid time off, use a temp agency worker to take over their duties, and allow them the time and space they need to get through it. This might not be the minimum legal provision you need to give; but staff do remember when you stick with them and give them the benefit of the doubt. This is general advice, but applying it specifically can work wonders for your reputation and staff satisfaction.

Clear Communication

Even if it’s confidential, it’s important to ensure that communication guidelines are responsible and maturely handled. Make sure issues that are reported are clearly laid out, that there’s no ‘vague approach’ you take towards providing your concerns to a staff member. In some cases, an appropriate disciplinary approach with correct justifications will be required, and when you adequately convey these concerns, those affected will understand. During sensitive situations, work has to be done to properly outline the parameters of what you’re dealing with, otherwise a tangled situation can become worse. You don’t need every detail about the person lives of your staff of course, but providing the right place to talk can help you understand what you need to do, and what is expected of your staff member.

With this advice, we hope you can better deal with sensitive staff situations going forward.