How do you handle clueless and incompetent employees?

Kennysplash

Verified member
Every business owner face the problem of employees that are incompetent every now and then. How do you handle them? My mom runs a restaurant, and there is this position of chef that needed to be occupied. Well we found someone that claimed she studied food science as a course in the university. She was hired, taken to the kitchen, but to our dismay she does not even know how to operate some kitchen equipments. We thought that is a small problem, we took time to teach her how to operate them. Then we discovered that she cannot even prepare most of the meals. What do we do about that. Some people say we should offer training before the employees start work, seriously? We are supposed to be teaching someone that hold a degree in the field how to do the work again. The experience still suprises me, we had to let her go and eventually we found someone capable. But what should be done about this issue of work incompetency.
 

Jonaville

Active member
I had a similar problem with an employee too. This person doesn't even know the basics of the job, and he is supposed to be skilled in it! It is so frustrating and tiring. The person had to be fired immediately, there is no way we can manage such a person.
Whatever skills or education people are going for, they should learn to take their learning seriously so that when it is time to offer their knowledge and skills in the labor market, they won't fail miserably thereby embarrassing themselves.
 

moonchild

VIP Contributor
This happens in the tech industry a lot of times, many people claim to have experience and when they scale the interview and come on board you'll realize that they don't know much and you will have no option than to fire them.

Well, it all boils down to the business owner, his ability to manage those individuals maybe give them training before getting them on board or fire them immediately.

I'll suggest renegotiating the salary and put them on a comprehensive training that will equip them, with this you're sure that you are grooming an expert and he'll be loyal to your company because of this.

But if an employee is fired it will demoralize them and they might find it hard get another opportunities, tech companies nowadays use the former model.

They'll take in junior devs and give them adequate training and a small salary that will be scaled with time and after a certain period they will be taken in as employees.

In a nutshell, I'll advise keeping the employees and putting them on training until they know how to do it perfectly.
 

Alexandoy

VIP Contributor
In the example of the university graduate related to culinary arts who does not know how to operate kitchen equipment I see the problem not in the operation but in the hiring. Never rely on the face value of the applicant. Do your research properly and thoroughly. That is why there is an interview to dig in to the knowledge that is claimed by the applicant. If she is a graduate of a course in food then you should have asked what she had done in the kitchen as the thesis. In what company did she underwent the apprenticeship or the OJT (on the job training). Things like that are not minor. They are the proof of the knowledge that they should have. If you have trained that employee and there is no improvement then you can terminate her due to incompetence. That is a legal ground so you do not have to worry about the labor law.
 

Abigael

Valued Contributor
I have ever worked in a restaurant where the hired chef was incompetent that way too. The only solution was to fire him and hire a person who has the competence needed. It will be such a waste of time to start training someone instead of hiring someone who already knows the job.

I think that is why employers usually check for qualifications and proof that you have skill. But you know skills cannot be seen during an interview. It is until the person starts doing the job practically that you find out that they are incompetent. It is best to just let them go and hired skilled labor.

The case in works places is usually that people who are skilled are hired. Then they are done a small training that involves just showing them around and giving them rules about how the workplace is. Of which they need to have most of the skills that are needed in the job. If they don't, then they are not qualified for the job.
 

Chibson

VIP Contributor
It is bad that someone who claims to hold a university in food science does not know how to handle some kitchen equipments. This is why a lot of companies make some certain things necessary and a must before they employ anyone. I think it is very important that you people always conduct interviews and training for anyone you want to employ because that will go a long way in ensuring that the worker has quality experience. This is one of the best ways some companies use to get the best out of their workers no matter the kind of degree or their qualifications. this is one of the reasons why in Canada you cannot be employed if you do not have Canada work experience. I know a lot of people who travelled to Canada some time ago and were not really employed by some businesses because they don't have Canada working experience. A lot of companies are businesses have adopted this method because one of the best ways of making your employees competent is training them and making them understand necessary things required of them to be competent in your company. It doesn't make sense to employ people because they're holding degrees.
 

Kingsley

Valued Contributor
Well am of the opinion that one should not see your employee as incompetent. If you blame your employee for incompetence then the panel that did the recruitment should be blamed and not the employee, I believe there are processes that is suppose to be followed before an employee is been hired for a job. And if there is truly a fair process and every applicant that is contest in for the position is suppose to undergo the entire process which will certainly be tailored to fit the job description that is need for the organization. Hence if the applicant finally emerge successfully after undergoing all the rigorous process. Then the position should be made available for the successful applicant. And at that point the incompetence does not lies with the employee but the recruitment panel.

And we must also acknowledge that even after all the recruitment process has been fully concluded and final selection made. The successful applicant will still undergo on the job training process before they will be allowed to resume their duties at their appropriate quarters. Hence at that point we will not only consider the employee as incompetent but the whole management system. And everyone involved in the process should be evaluated.
 

Kendy

Verified member
Handling a clueless and incompetent employee is one hard nut to crack and this needs caution to avoid brutality because some individual have outrageous attitude. At times, the fault from even employing an incompetent individual in the first place emanates from poor recruitment and selection process. When advertising for candidates, although you might not be able to examine all the vital details but you should be able to decipher one who has an experience or one who is knowledgeable in the field. You should always select the best candidate for the job and based on merit and shun being partial.


There are ways to handling an incompetent and clueless employee. First, you have to check what made the employee suddenly become inactive this is because, I cannot believe that you just recruited someone without interview session or some experience level. You need to ensure that the fault or the change of behaviour is not as a result of inequity or unfair treatment, this is because, it is only natural for some individuals when they feel cheated or that their input does not tally with their output, they tend to behave or show severe lackadaisical attitude or they reduce the level of work so that it can be even with the treatment gotten from the organisation.
 

Rachael

Verified member
I have never been in a position where I handle a clueless and incompetent employee but if I were to handle such situation, I will set up a disciplinary board by adopting the process of mediation to solve a conflict of the employee be it internal or external conflict. If the situation still worsens, I will have to make use of the arbitration process or I would have to terminate the contract of the staff. I do not see why I will hire a clueless and incompetent employee because this clearly means that the recruitment and selection process was biased and absolutely faulty. In situations, where the employee abruptly becomes clueless and incompetent, most especially in cases where the workers were active and hardworking but suddenly changes, the management should reexamine themselves, this is because the employees are demotivated, and when employees are not motivated, it brings about negative changes because that is the only way they can communicate their grievances by passing a message or a signal through low productivity at work. The employer should endeavor to compensate his employees, pay their salaries on time, promote them and not wait until they clamor, murmur or riot for their deserved benefits.
 

funmi

Verified member
Handling an incompetent employee is not truly an easy task mostly when you really do not want to invest money on the staff for the purpose of training and retraining , in most cases an organization who do not have all the time and resources to spend or invest on the human resource development will most likely lay off such kind of staff and employ a more competent applicant to fill such a position. But in any case if one is faced with such a challenge it will be best to make such staff or employee to see trir shortcomings and look out for more better ways of improving them. This could be done by allow them to undergo onsite training or on the job training. They can still be allowed to go for special training in another environment where they can be taught properly the skills required for the job so as to ensure that they get the required skills for the job.

But to be candid I personally can not allow someone without the right skills for the vacant position to skill through the recruitment exercise process . as there would have been series of test such candidate will undergo.
 

Stena

Member
I would not hire someone clueless in the first place except I intentionally want to allow the person learn on the job. If I do, the blame should fall on me or my recruitment panelists.
The best way forward in a case where an employee is clueless or incompetent is to fire him or her.
I think employers who practice favouritism when recruiting are the ones most likely to employ clueless staff.
It happened at an organization I worked. My boss employed her brother's wife for reasons she knew best. It was not long before this employee stated showing signs of incompetence. She would arrive work late and most times it was easy to spot her sleeping during working hours.
There were times I overheard my boss reprimand her for her unethical attitude, it was obvious she was finding it difficult to fire her. This was probably because the defaulter was a family member.
An act of incompetence is not to be tolerated in a firm that has a good vision and is willing to run with it. Incompetent workers should not be allowed to spoil the broth.
I opine that incompetent staff who still show incompetence after strict warning should be fired as soon as possible.
 

sincerem

VIP Contributor
Already, my business operations roll be strictly by rules and regulations, you can't come and act mischievous, every employee must be competent in order to see the productivity rate of the company going up. When I discover an incompetent employee, I'll try to call him or her on meeting to know what exactly is behind the employees low work input to encourage him or her to improve on the work rate in order for the company to be effective as well in his or her position than feeling such position functioning less.
 

Augusta

VIP Contributor
it can be very frustrating dealing with an incompetent worker than gave the vibe during the hiring process that they are capable hands I know some employs don't waste time to fire such but I think sometimes we can do some things to help to see if the person can cope than outrightly sacking the person.

I think inhouse training can help in this regards. then the person be trained. I know some people just apply for the available jobs whether the know it or not out of desperation. they want to have something doing than sitting idle such people would be willing to learn so that they can be retain in the job, so one let them be trained

then they can keep learning on the job and with this before you know it they are becoming specialist and the work continues. but if it isn't working the person should be fired.
 
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