A "no worries" type usually inspires just that in supervisors.
If you're a supervisor, then you know that motivating employees is one of the most difficult tasks that falls under your purview. All employees are different, so a "one-approach-fits-all" style rarely succeeds. You especially have your work cut out for you if you have an employee who frequently espouses the "don't worry; be happy" or the "no worries" retort to your directions. What this kind of employee is subliminally telling you is not that she is footloose and carefree, but instead needs an infusion of focus and discipline and probably some sharper time-management skills. And you, as her supervisor, are in a prime position to provide it.
Instructions
1. Schedule a time for a private meeting with your "don't worry; be happy" type. If you do not have access to a room free of interruptions -- or if you fear other employees will interrupt the session -- take the employee to a private meeting place at a quiet restaurant, hotel conference room or a public library. Tell your employee that you want to engage in an informal chat to "take a measure" of your goals and expectations.
2. Review the employee's job description at this session, ensuring that no new responsibilities have been added or taken away since his last performance review. Praise him for his positive, can-do attitude -- even if you're stretching matters a bit -- and say that you are looking for ways to capitalize on this strength and improve efficiencies in your department.
3. Everybody wins when you can bring order and discipline to an unfocused employee.
Prioritize the employee's responsibilities and assign a weekly time estimate to each task. Do so either in terms of hours or percentages. For example, "updating the marketing database" might consume eight hours, or 20 percent, of the employee's workweek, while "making client follow-up calls" might consume 4 hours, or 10 percent, of her time.
4. Discuss, specifically, how the employee generally carries out these tasks and organizes his work day. Ensure that he maintains a calendar and carries a notepad to write notes as issues come up during the day. Listen carefully for any telltale signs of wasted time and productivity. If the employee blurts out that "Thursdays are my wasted day because I just run around and drop off marketing materials to the office managers," look for ways that this time would be better spent or for a better way to make connections with these office managers.
5. Develop an accountability system, or a way in which the employee can report to you on a weekly basis that her responsibilities have been carried out. Knowing that an employee will feel invested in a system that she has a hand in creating, ask the employee for her ideas. If reasonable, approve them. Stress that your goal is not to micromanage the employee's every work hour but to stay fully informed and to help if she encounters problems or resistance from outside sources.
6. Consider offering the employee an incentive for meeting his weekly objectives, though you may not want to "advertise" this fact to other employees. Such an incentive doesn't have to be extravagant, financial or even articulated. If, for example, after a few weeks the employee shows noticeable signs of improvement, take him out to lunch or dinner. Employees appreciate recognition, no matter what form it takes -- and this is something, as a supervisor, that you should harbor "no worries" about.
