Rogue Employee Management: Maintaining Accountability In Your Elevator Business

There’s a fine line between allowing your team to work independently and fostering a culture where no one is accountable for their decisions, actions, and behavior. This can happen at any level and in any function within a company. But why would people who play an important role in your company’s results and are presumably compensated for those results decide they no longer want to follow your guidelines? Highly talented or ambitious employees not held accountable for actions and behaviors that reflect professionally on the company will eventually lose respect for the boss. They might undermine the direction, make their own decisions, and manipulate others to follow their lead. Not all highly valued employees are susceptible to this, but those with self-serving intentions about who’s really running the company often are. Often, no direct action was taken because the management thought the issue could be minimized and conflicts or more bad behavior avoided. In the end, the lack of consequences emboldens rogue employees to act out in the first place. Let’s delve into the topic of rogue employee management– what does it mean for an employee to go rogue and how to handle them. 

What is a Rogue Employee? 

A rogue employee is someone who works for a company but does things that go against the company’s rules or interests. This can include stealing, committing fraud, sabotaging work, or sharing confidential information without permission. Such actions can harm the company in various ways, including damaging its reputation and financial health. In the elevator industry, a rogue employee can be particularly dangerous due to the technical and safety-critical nature of the work. 

• They might skip safety steps during installation or maintenance, leading to elevator failures, accidents, or injuries. 
• They could deliberately damage elevator systems, causing operational problems and potentially putting people at risk. 
• They might steal expensive materials or secret information about elevator technologies, resulting in financial losses for the company. 
• They could gain access to elevator control systems without permission and make changes that affect the elevator’s performance and safety. 
• They could falsify maintenance records or overcharge clients for work that wasn’t done, harming the company’s reputation and client trust. 
• With modern elevators using digital technologies, a rogue employee could access and misuse sensitive information about building operations or users. 

How Does Rogue Behavior Start? 

Rogue behavior can start from a fundamental disagreement over how the business is run or a feeling that they are not receiving the reward they feel entitled to. It can also sprout from someone who was passed over or is continually overruled on big decisions. Whatever the reason, this employee has chosen not to resolve the issue professionally. Instead, they feed their emotions about who’s most valuable and eventually start calling their own shots. 

Types of Rogue Employee in the Elevator Industry 

Rogue employees can take on various forms based on their actions and motives. Here are their main types and what they do: 

1. Ambitious Employees 

2. Disgruntled Employees 

3. Negligent Employees 

Mitigating Risks with Rogue Employee Management 

As the person in charge, you can’t allow rogue behavior to persist. Ignoring it can create a hostile work environment and drive away skilled employees. Before making quick decisions that could harm morale or lead to lawsuits, follow these steps to ensure your actions are appropriate. 

1. Assess Your Management Style 

Your employee may have gone rogue in response to something you do. Identifying this ‘blind spot’ is hard, so seek help from a professional if needed. Look for inconsistencies in your direction and areas you don’t follow up on. Ask yourself why you don’t hold this individual and others accountable. Fix these issues before trying to change the employee’s behavior. 

2. Evaluate Your Organization 

Rogue employees can harm your staff. Watch for mood changes and other unusual behavior. Check if complaints have increased, especially if you have an HR department. Think about how much your company’s culture has contributed to the rogue behavior and how long it has been happening. 

3. Commit to Change 

After assessing your actions and the workplace environment, decide what needs to change. Be ready to follow through, as rogue employees can sense insincere commitments. Start by creating new core values and workplace standards with input from other valued employees.

4. Set Enforceable Standards 

After deciding on new performance standards, meet with your senior staff, including the rogue employee, to discuss how to spread these values throughout the company. If the rogue employee resists, don’t back down. Share your observations and ask why this behavior is happening. 

5. Gain Commitment 

End your meeting by getting the rogue employee’s commitment to support the company’s direction. You may need to make some commitments yourself. Show accountability for actions that led to the rogue behavior, and have the employee demonstrate better behavior and hold others accountable. 

6. Stay Consistent and Involved 

Monitor compliance with the new standards, including follow-up, accountability for results, and performance feedback. Show that the environment has changed to turn a rogue employee back into a loyal one. 

What To Do If Rogue Employee Does Not Improve? 

If some key employees are too comfortable doing their own thing despite your best efforts, consider reassigning critical duties to others, adding a layer of decision-making authority, having a direct follow-up meeting with HR, and starting a recruiting process to find a replacement if necessary. Letting key employees go rogue takes time to cultivate. There are usually plenty of signals that behavior is heading in an unhealthy direction. Whatever you do, don’t dismiss or avoid it—it will not resolve itself!