Employee always shifting blame for errors at work? Elaine Varelas advises
Do you have an employee who never takes responsibility when things go wrong at work and blames his or her coworkers instead? Elaine Varelas offers expertise in handling the situation.
Q: One of my employees constantly makes excuses and shifts the blame for any errors in his work. He doesn’t take any ownership and immediately tries to find a reason why it’s not his fault: “Well, Carmen didn’t clarify when she needed the report;” “I didn’t have time because you asked me to do that other project.” It goes on and on. I’m struggling to remain patient with this individual. How do I deal with this?A:
Kudos to you for being patient with this individual so far. It is very difficult to deal with people who don’t take responsibility for their own work or time management and who aren’t self-aware enough to know that they are blaming others and making excuses. What you do have is a great developmental opportunity for this employee. He knows he doesn’t want to be in trouble, but he doesn’t know how to deal with these issues professionally. This is where learning can happen.
Choose an example of this blame-shifting situation and take it apart to show your employee where his responsibilities are, how he should interact with colleagues, what it means to be accountable for delivery times, and any other area that concerns you. Your first step should be to confirm that your employee does actually have the skills required to deliver on projects. Are you confident he has the knowledge and skills to do what is expected of him? Evaluate his capability around key competencies for the role. Does the role require advanced editing skills or complex accounting? Can he do it? If this is where the breakdown is, find relevant skill-based learning in addition to underscoring why the work matters. If someone hasn’t developed the skills required to perform their job responsibilities, that’s one problem; if they’ve developed the skills but don’t see the value or importance of the work, that’s another problem altogether. Work on an appropriate educational approach depending on what his unique situation is. It might be training to develop a skill or it could be clarifying accountability, expectations, and the big picture of the process to enhance the employee’s desire to do the job and do it well. Once training and accountability are communicated, a change in behavior should follow—and if the employee still cannot deliver, then there’s a good chance he is not in the right job.
At the same time, consider whether there’s any validity to this person’s comments and his perceived “blaming.” Perhaps he does have a lot of competing projects on his plate that you didn’t realize or colleagues who don’t communicate their deadlines. In this case, let him know that it’s still his responsibility to ask the questions to get the information he needs: “Hey, Carmen, what’s your deadline on this?” or “Does this take priority over the other project I’m working on?” He needs to realize that it isn’t out of his control to get clarification—there is a level of personal responsibility for follow-up and confirmation. Clarifying questions will ensure that everyone knows what needs to be done, when, and by whom.
Take the steps now to start developing your employee with skills-based training, if necessary, or with clarification on the importance of accountability in the workplace. With the right solution, your employee’s blame-shifting behavior will be a thing of the past.
