Refusing to participate in a daily briefing

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Manager Tools Trinity

Hi, some advise would be great on what to do next and how long to wait with regards to the below issue.

I work for a small company in Sweden which has around 100 employees. About 6 month ago I was recruited to the company to manage the operations, having no prior experience from this specific field and having Swedish as my second language.

I am now implementing Lean within my organisation. As part of this I have introduced a daily briefing (15 mins) where we go through the previous days performance and any anticipated issues that may arrise during the day.

One of my planners did not come to the meeting to which I gave feedback. He then received the same feedback 3 more times for not attending (he would go to the toilet or take a phone call at the time of the meeting). I recently sent out a mail to all of my team with a standard agenda for the meeting and a reminder as to why we are doing this (I had previously held a team meeting on this and discussed it in one to ones as well as the VD (who owns the company and is supporting this) writing about it in is monthly news letter.  

The direct responded to this mail say that our meeting is making him ill and if he must attend then he would like us to find other duties for him that do not require him to attend.

I have met with him and he says that he does not want to attend, it is pointless, he has no input to give and it is not his planning that is ever the problem.

This person has been with the company from the beginning and is generally good at his job. He also has been friends with my boss for 20 years.

I would like your thoughts on what do to next.

thanks

Shane

Submitted by Steven Martin on Monday June 20th, 2011 10:42 am

I have issues with the statement that his planning is not ever the problem.  Isn't the purpose of this meeting about communication?  If he has work being done that could impact others, should he be there to speak to it and make sure everyone knows about it?  It sounds like you need to have a talk to him about the purpose of work and how sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do.  The comment I remember was something like, if work were all fun, you would have to pay admission...

Submitted by John Graham on Wednesday June 29th, 2011 9:21 am

 My first bit of advice is try not to worry about overly. The employee IS in the wrong; he's refusing to do something reasonable when told to by his boss. Treat it like a massive deal now and it becomes a confrontation, and you look smaller for it.
The reason for the meetings is to improve communication within the business. I'd make it clear to your direct that this is the point of the meeting, and that you think it is unlikely you will be able to give him a good review if he continues to refuse to attend. Additionally, I'd make it clear that if his refusing to attend causes any problems (due to lack of knowledge etc) it will not be seen as an excuse.
Continue to encourage him to attend, and inform your boss of what you've done. Stick to this: Give poor reviews (if justified), block salary increases (if required), continue to give feedback and begin disciplinary procedures if his lack of attendance causes any issues. If people ask you why he isn't attending, you can be honest. Say he has refused and that refusing will be considered when looking at performance, pay and promotions. Hopefully he'll grow up over the next couple of months, if not then eventually you'll probably need to remove him from the business (and the above will make this easier).

Submitted by O Deme on Thursday July 28th, 2011 7:05 pm

Put him on the spot... make him part of the agenda, giving him a topic at the beginning of the meeting.  If he doesn't show up, then HE is the one wasting everybody's time.  Or maybe you could rotate the responsibility for running this meeting, starting with someone more responsible, then eventually his turn will come. 
Agree with what everyone else suggested... make sure your boss knows, make sure he knows that you made several attempts to address it and that a bad review is coming.

Submitted by Steve deRosier on Tuesday August 16th, 2011 10:13 am

So to clarify the situation as I understand:
* The meeting is useful, reasonable, and what you've decided upon to help communication.
* You've given the direct feedback repetitively.
* He still refuses to attend.
I'd be very surprised to find out that this direct is a top producer, helps other people, and in fact that "not his planning that is ever the problem".  If this guy really is in the very top of the producers (top 1%), maybe you let it slide. But even if so you run a huge risk that your other directs notice and become resentful of the problem.  I strongly suspect that this guy is trying to tear down the team because he wasn't promoted. Regardless of the reason, his behavior _is_ tearing down the team. IIRC, tearing down the team is one of Mark's unforgivable offenses.
I think at this point it's very appropriate to use positional power: tell him that this sort of behavior is not tolerated, that attending meetings is a requirement of his job and that if he continues down this path he might consider looking for a new one.  And if it continues you can fire him for cause. Period.  If this guy's "friend" power with your boss is stronger than this, I recommend you start looking for a new job because you're in an impossible situation.