Ideally, when you spot a poor work ethic, you can try out the techniques listed to make it better. But when that doesn’t seem to help the situation, it’s a good idea to revisit the situation with these steps:
- Talk to them. Talk to the team member and show them how it is affecting other team members. Find out what the problem is. Talk about what a strong work ethic is. Let them know what you expect.
- Set reachable goals. Set goals for the team member to work towards. Start small. Have regular meetings with the person to see how they are doing with the goals.
- Reward good work. If their work ethic is improving, reward them in some way, even if it’s as simple as public praise. Again, let them experience the feeling that comes from good work.
- Set a better example. How are you doing with your own work ethic? Do you get things done, meet deadlines and promises?
- Fire them. If their work ethic never improves, you need to get rid of them. They are affecting the entire team negatively.