Books by Anthony Dance

My first manager position was general manager of a small supermarket in London. The branch I took over had a sickness and absenteeism problem: every week people were calling in sick. On reviewing the absence records, I identified a warehouse operative called Derek who was obviously taking advantage of the company's sick pay benefits. Records clearly showed he had taken many sick days prior to weekends, holidays etc. Never having tackled an issue like this before, I contacted my middle manager for permission to address the issue. The middle manager was very positive about me 'grasping the nettle' and gave me the go-ahead. Encouraged by my middle manager's comments, I called Derek to the office to talk about his sickness record. I never really got started, because Derek refused to discuss the matter. "You have no right to talk to me about my sick record, it is none of your business," he said. He then proceeded to storm out of the office shouting 'bullying'!! Taken aback, I contacted my middle manager again to tell him what had happened. Summoning up many years of middle management experience my middle manager said - "Speak to HR," which I duly did. Following confirmation from HR that I did have a right to discuss someone's attendance record, I asked Derek to come to the office again. Again I did not really get started as Derek said "I don't care who you have spoken to, my sickness is my business and nobody else's." Getting more frustrated I contacted the HR department again and explained the situation. I asked the HR manager if he would explain the position to Derek as he was refusing to discuss the matter with me. After a great deal of reluctance the HR manager agreed to talk to Derek, but not before voicing negative comments about my competence. Following discussions with the HR manager, Derek agreed to talk to me, but only if he had someone else in the office to witness what was said. I naively agreed, and the company union representative joined myself and Derek in the office. Needless to say, the meeting did not go well. There was a shouting match, the union rep accused me of bullying and the meeting concluded with both Derek and the union rep storming out of the office, threatening me with a formal complaint. Shocked, bruised and feeling stupid, I felt that at least I had got an important message across. Ten minutes following the meeting, I received a call from the HR manager. "We have received a complaint from the union rep regarding your aggressive style; they do not wish to make a formal complaint but felt their concerns should be noted." I was then lectured about the risks of having an aggressive management style. A short time after speaking to the HR Manager I was contacted by my middle manager who said "Well, you made a right old mess of that then, didn't you!!" He then proceeded to give me a reprimand for not handling the situation correctly. Obviously this incident did put me off from tackling poor performance for a while, but I did learn from the experience and it did actually make me more confident and determined. Over the years I became skilled in poor performance management which helped me climb the corporate ladder to Executive level. Never, ever forget the fact that 'employers have rights too' and always remind your poor performers of this. Final note: Derek left the organisation shortly after our conversation; the union rep took a little longer.