The Silent Assassin - What to Do When They Visit You?

Introduction

There are a group of people in the community that will some time in their career visit your business; the silent assassin.

The silent assassin displays all the qualities of a serial killer as they silently wreck havoc in your business through unrest, sabotage, bullying and non-productivity.

Modus Operandi

The silent assassin is a work of art! They stalk their victim/s purposely as they maintain an outward veneer of respectability towards management and those that have authority. They often undermine your business and wreck the careers of other employees through a vicious type of 'office politics' and 'sabotage'?

They love trouble and strife and seeing other colleagues disadvantaged! The feed the 'grapevine' with rumour gossip that is in their interests. But you wouldn't necessarily know of course. They wear great camouflage.

Detecting the Silent Assassin

Detecting the Silent Assassin is not easy! They often go undetected for many months with employees afraid to confront them or approach management about the behaviours of these people.

Surface respectability and a pleasant demeanour often accompany these people. It is estimated that the silent assassin has a tremendous impact on productivity where productivity can decline dramatically and morale plummets and you wake up one morning and wonder what is going on.

What do they do to my business?

The silent assassin is an expert in sabotaging other peoples career and the productivity of your business.

The come to work with the outward guise of working hard for you only to engage in activities that cost you time and money. It has been said that sabotage can be defined as coming to work with the express intent of working slowly, not working, appearing to work, placing impediments in others performing and producing and making a conscious choice to undermine your business and in the extreme to damaging your business deliberately and calculatedly.

How do I know who they are? You can do your business a favour by taking time out of your routine regularly and look at the stats,

? Have you a higher employee turnover than is normal for your industry

? Have you received requests from departments' employees in particular for employees to be transferred to another department?

? Lack of team work and working together

? Increased friction

? Increased absenteeism

? Decreased productivity

? Decreased profits despite good sales

? Excessive customer complaints

? Increased 'grapevine' and rumour mill traffic

? People regularly resigning from their positions

? Low levels of trust

What do I do?

Trying to smooth the waters or placating these people will not work! You must take time to carefully investigate your business and see for yourself. You need to be thorough. Your people deserve an environment that is safe and wholesome to work in. You can

? Speak to workers and managers that have worked with the suspected person and get their opinions.

? Realise that many silent assassins work on the premise that their behaviours and conduct go unnoticed. This is their Achilles' heel.

? Have other trusted employees keep and eye open on the person and pass on examples of inappropriate behaviour to you.

? Keep thorough documentation

How do I deal with the silent assassin?

A person who engages in assassination or sabotage has no place in your business.

You must confront the silent assassin with proof of their behaviours. Make sure you have everything well documented. Call a meeting and say to the perpetrator 'Something is not right here and it is affecting our business. I need to get to the bottom of it and have some concerns about the negative behaviours and comments that you seem to be displaying'. Give some examples.

Give the silent assassin time to put their side of the story forwards. If they start to manifest by defensive behaviour or overtly rude, loud and threatening you know you are on the right track.

This is a sign to you that you are on the right path and that the likely outcome of the situation is performance management and moving the person on from your business. The day of the silent assassin in your business must end or you face potential ruin and legal penalties.

A person who has nothing to 'worry' about knows their behaviours and conduct can stand up to scrutiny.

Many productivity problems in the workplace often come down to a 'fly in the ointment' the silent assassin, the saboteur, the bully! Do your homework and confront. In one instance where we assisted the business owner, prior to our involvement the business owner faced ruin and having to close his business so irresolvable seemed the issues. The business owner now has a thriving business. We have assisted businesses in a number of these types of events and can attest to the trauma they bring to your business if left unchecked.

A call to Arms?

Sometime your business will be confronted by a situation that is complicated and has been progressively manifesting for some time. In this situation we recommend that you take advice and get professional human resource assistance. Your business and your employees are too important to 'stuff it up'. Don't allow your hard work to be bought to ruins, take control, take action and take advice! There are practical actionable strategies for you.

For more information see www.biz-momentum.com and feel free to email Philip with your question if he can help.

Philip Lye is Director of Biz Momentum Pty Ltd and provides professional management services for:

Strategic Human Resource Management
Employee Relations Advice
Workplace Health & Safety Compliance Strategies
Management Skills Training
Conference Speaker
Mediator and Negotiator

Philip holds qualifications in Accounting, Leadership, Human Resource Management, Industrial Relations and is a qualified accountant.

Prior to starting Biz Momentum Philip started his career as a junior clerk in banking and finance and through various industries rose to Chief Executive Officer. http://www.biz-momentum.com

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