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How do you manage difficult employees is an interview question asked for several
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different reasons. To answer this question well you need to understand why
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the interviewer is asking how do you manage difficult employees. Typical scenarios include, firstly the interview is for a manager role and the
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interviewer or the hiring manager is judging how effective a manager you are
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likely to be. Second you might be joining a team with one or more difficult
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employees in it and the interviewer wants to know how you're going to handle
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them. Or third the team that you'll be managing has one or more difficult
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people in it. So in this video I'm going to show you firstly how to find out
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which scenario you're faced with, second give you suggestions of what to include
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in your answer and third to give you an example answer at the end of the video
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My name is Jess Coles and I've been hired into world-class companies
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interviewed over a thousand candidates from graduates all the way through to
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CEOs and I've been a board director of a recruitment company with 140 million in
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sales. And do take a look at our how to get hired program for comprehensive
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training on every aspect of getting a job against tough competition. And if you
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like this video please give it a thumbs up and subscribe. When answering the
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interview question how do you manage difficult employees watch your body language. By asking how do you manage difficult employees the interviewer is
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seeing how you're going to react to the possibility of managing difficult
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employees or working alongside difficult employees. If you remain calm and show no
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fear or dread and take the question in your stride and answer it confidently
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then you've passed the first hurdle. If you show fear, annoyance, apprehension
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hesitation or any similar emotion or reaction which indicates that you are
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not comfortable in dealing with difficult people you're putting yourself at a distinct disadvantage. And if you're put out or put on the back foot by the
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question what will you be like when you're actually faced with difficult employees. Before answering how do you manage difficult employees ask a
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question of your own. If you are interviewing for a management role you'll
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be able to give a much better more tailored answer if you understand the
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situation. So I suggest that you ask the interviewer a clarifying question first
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You know something along the lines of would you like me to give you a general answer or do you have a specific person or a set of issues you prefer me to
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address in my actual answer. By asking a clarifying question you also get an
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idea if you are going to be joining a team with difficult people in it. Answering the specific problems the hiring manager will have will help you
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get closer to offer compared to giving a more generic answer. And if you're not
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going for a management role I would suggest that you also follow exactly the
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same approach. Just so you don't get caught out this interview question can
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also be asked in the following ways. Firstly how do you manage difficult
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customers? Secondly how do you manage difficult team members? Third how do you
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manage difficult stakeholders? Fourth how do you manage difficult clients? Tailor your clarifying question according to which exact version of this
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question you get asked by the interviewer. And when answering how do
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you manage difficult employees I would suggest that you include in your answer
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as a manager the following five steps. First I'd find out why the employee is
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being difficult. Secondly I'd set expectations clearly with the employee. Third I'd try and coach the difficult employee to give them every chance of
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improving their performance and more particularly their behavior. And fourth when managing a difficult employee I'll try and give as much constructive and
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honest feedback as I can that gives them the best chance of improving. And fifth
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I'll definitely take action. I would not allow the status quo with the difficult
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employee to continue. Either they improve or I'll take more formal steps which
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might include removing them from the team. For the interview question how do
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you manage difficult colleagues or co-workers I would suggest you include in
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your answer the following. Firstly I'd find out why my colleague was being
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difficult. Secondly I'd explain the impact of their difficult behavior and how it's impacting me and the team. Thirdly I'd actively try and help them
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resolve the issue or issues causing their difficult behavior if that was
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possible. Fourth I'd enlist the aid of fellow team members for the previous
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steps as peer pressure is really powerful. And fifth if the behavior
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hadn't changed after steps that I've outlined so far I would speak to the
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team manager to highlight the issues and what I've done so far and also to help
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ask for their help. Make these points when answering the interview question in
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your own words and take a look at our videos to help you deal effectively with
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poor or difficult employees. We've got a lot more advice included in those videos
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An example answer to how do you manage difficult employees could be if firstly
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I'd ask my clarifying question and then I might go on to say I've had to manage
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several difficult employees before. I always start with trying to find out and
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understand why they're being difficult. I then set expectations for their behavior with them and then coach them to achieve the goal set. I provide lots
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of honest feedback so they know what they're doing well and what needs work. Then it is their choice to improve or not. If they don't improve then I'll take
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more formal action which might mean they leave the business. We have covered
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several different ways to answer this interview question. Before any management interview go through your answer to this question and ensure you have an example
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of where you've successfully managed difficult employees before. And if you like this video please hit the thumbs up button and subscribe. Thanks for watching
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and I look forward to speaking to you again soon