How to handle a direct report that refuses to complete a task

As people managers, you will come across situations when the work is not getting done. When the direct report is simply not doing the work, or is taking too long to complete. In this blog, let's look at the best ways to address this situation.

First you need to make sure that they are aware of the task - the work you are expecting them to do. Sometimes, they may think other employees are supposed to complete the task, and hence may not work on it. You can do this by asking them every week, what their goals are for the next week. By getting it written down, you also have something formally captured in case you want to refer to it later.

Next, after they are aware of their goals, and if they are still not completing them, do ask them if there were any problems or blockers that stopped them from completing the task. Maybe there are problems that you were not aware of - maybe they were waiting for their co-workers to complete a related task. So, it's a good practice to also find out from the employee's side if they ran into any problems while doing the task. Again, getting these status updates written down every week is recommended, as it increases accountability, and you also have something to refer to later.

By asking these two questions: what they got done this week, and if there are any problems - you can find out the reason that the work is not getting done. Sometimes they may not be getting their work done, because their plate is already full, or they feel they are being asked to do more than their co-workers. By finding out the "why", you are one step closer to the solution.