It’s a pretty common understanding to all business owners and managers that you will come across employees who will cause you issues at some stage during their employment period. This shouldn’t stop you from seeing the value in your apprentice though.
This is natural – no one person has the same thought process, life experiences or expectations from a job. Until you get to know and understand one another, like in any employment role, you could come up against quite a lot of miscommunication.
Meaning good clear communication is extremely important. Make sure you are giving feedback regularly and also listening to what your apprentice has to say and encouraging them to ask questions when they don’t understand something. Remember an apprentice is learning everything new that you are highly experienced in.
Also take into account personal worries and private issues happening outside the workplace – remember people can’t always just check their feelings at the door when they get to work or feel comfortable openly discussing their problems. Try to be patient and compassionate.
This doesn’t mean you should give up on investing in your apprentice and the future of your business. Once your apprentice is fully trained you will more than likely have trust and loyalty built up between the two of you because you have been right there with them while they have built their career up from entry-level.
Apprenticeship programs also develop qualities such as commitment, patience and perseverance which you don’t always find in other employment situations. And being an apprentice builds character in ways ordinary jobs or internships do not.
If you think your situation has escalated passed this point remember there are standard HR policies and procedures that must be followed, to protect both yourself and the apprentice. Contact us to handle this difficult situation on 13 30 24.
Forbes also gives some great additional advice on how to deal with difficult employees here.