HR Management & Compliance

How To Polish (or Pitch) Your Bad-Apple Employees

Every workplace has them: Those bad-apple employees who spoil the whole barrel.

Like their edible counterparts, bad-apple employees come in several different varieties:

  • Grousing Gracie: Her co-workers are out to get her. The boss is mean. She has way more work to do than she could ever be expected to finish. Her hair is flat and lifeless. And so on (and on, and on, and on).
  • Arrogant Artie: He claims the credit for work others have done — but when it’s time for criticism, he’s always pointing fingers elsewhere. Nobody likes working with him because he’s too busy boasting about how terrific he is to actually help out with the hard stuff.

Get rid of your bad apple employees once and for all — webinar next Thursday.


  • Missing Minnie: She’s the queen of three-day weekends, endless lunches, and early departures. Her specialty is doing just enough work so that it would be more trouble to replace her than keep her around — despite the fact that she’s actually “around” less than anyone else in the office.

There are others, of course — we’ve all known, alas, our own versions of Harassing Harry and Gossipy Gertie — but the bottom line is the same: The presence of these employees disrupts your entire workforce.

They hurt morale and productivity, and, in extreme cases, they can even be responsible for high levels of unwanted turnover (particularly when the bad-apple employees have somehow found their way to upper management). And, if you don’t catch the problem early, it gets harder and harder to fix.

We’d like to invite you to join us next Thursday, April 7, for a webinar all about preventing and correcting unacceptable employee behavior of all types.

  • Join us for Unacceptable Employee Behavior: How to Polish — or Pitch — the Bad Apples Before They Spoil the Whole Barrel, and learn:
  • How to spot and stop problematic behavior early — before it takes firm root in your workplace
  • The most common behavior-, conduct-, and appearance-related issues managers should be able to identify and prepared to address
  • The key areas to focus your time and attention to prevent bad behavior from permeating your workplace in the first place
  • Strategies for getting to the bottom of the negative attitude or conduct — and why this is so important
  • How to communicate effectively — and constructively — with the offender, including how to provide candid feedback without fueling his or her contempt
  • How to use positive reinforcement to get naysayers on board with the rest of the team
  • The difference between counseling and disciplining, and how to tell which is appropriate for the circumstances presented (there’s a time and place for both!)
  • How to engage in difficult conversations, whether the employee is a rampant gossiper, a chronic complainer, an inappropriate dresser, or another type of behavior/conduct offender
  • The importance of progressive discipline, and why it’s important to explain the consequences the employee may face if he or she fails to make an attitude adjustment
  • How to know when it’s time to fire a “bad apple” employee — and how to go about it to reduce your risks of a lawsuit

We hope you’ll join us! (And, because it’s a virtual event, there’s no risk of being stuck sitting next to Leering Larry — it’s a deal you can’t beat.) Click here to register now.

If you have any questions about the webinar, feel free to email me directly at jcarsen@employeradvice.com.

Download your free copy of 10 Tips for Effective, Legal Performance Appraisals today!

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