Defusing Employee Complaints

Leaders of their organization have the responsibility to make decisions, maintain productivity and interpret organizational policy. In this role, you occasionally experience a wave of unpopularity. If you view these occasional disagreements as part of your position rather than as personal attacks, you maintain professional, positive relationships with team members and enjoy personal satisfaction from doing your job well.

But controlling your own emotions is not always easy. Remind yourself that you personally are probably not the cause of a team member’s anger. An angry employee is usually upset with an organizational decision, policy, or rule you are required to carry out. You are simply doing your job.

Because of the position you hold in the organization, it is your function to protect the interests of the organization – not to protect yourself from personal dislike. You can’t worry about what you cannot control. Adopting this rational attitude helps you to think and act in a calm, professional manner without adding the fuel of your own emotions to an already explosive situation. Reacting emotionally to complaints may intensify and prolong the negative situation.

In discussing a complaint with an employee or team member, even if emotions like anger or frustration come to the surface, limit your discussion to the issues and behaviors causing the problem. Because “You” messages often come across as being accusing and judgmental, use “I” messages to keep from becoming defensive when presenting your point of view. Put the message in terms of how a change in behavior can be constructive. For example, instead of saying, “You need to answer memos more promptly,” say something like “I cannot make necessary decisions when you do not respond to memos promptly.” Or instead of, “You are not supporting your team the way you should” say something like “I observe that your team members seem to have a lot of idle time on their hands”.

Using “I” messages allows you to point out how an issue affects you, or explain why the issue is important without attacking the person. When communicating about problems, also avoid judgmental words like should, could, ought, if only, and but. It is important to communicate you’re you are listening with an open mind. Use of the word “but” negates whatever the other person is saying, and it conveys to the other person that you are not open to what is being said.

Addressing problems promptly, rather than procrastinating, is also crucial. One large, nationally known firm reduced the number of written grievances by 95 percent by implementing a concentrated effort to solve problems where they occurred, at the time they occurred. Promptness in solving problems lowers the production cost of goods and services, improves an organization’s competitive position, and enhances customer satisfaction.

Acknowledgement:  LMI and LMI Journal-September 2013