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Bludgers.... these are the damn thieves!

I say thieves as I reckon there are employees who are stealing from companies every day......I know I have, and I reckon you have too.

Ok, maybe not in the form of money directly from tills (although they are doing that too), or even the sneaky stapler in your handbag, but thieving in the form of SALARY - money wasted as they fail to do what they are paid to do!

The modern working environment has transformed and with it comes a whole new set of challenges. It is so easy to hide behind email, smart phones, technology and LOOK busy.

Oh, people ARE busy; busy trading shares, busy organising social events, busy surfing the net, and busy fluffing around the office interrupting everyone else, meanwhile you are madly trying to get your work done efficiently so you can produce results AND have a life …..

So the bludgers are stealing from:

• their employer, who pays them for best efforts and results,
• their team mates, who have to pick up the slack,
• their customers/clients who are paying them for their best efforts; and
• ultimately, from themself by being "mediocre".

 Not only are the bludgers stealing money, many are stealing ENERGY too. You know the ones...
 
When you ask them how they are, you are met by big long sighs, drooping shoulders and smile-less faces. Their typical response is "not bad!" (sigh),  "I'm OK" (sigh), or "yeah, goooooood” (sigh).
 
I call these the energy thieves!

It is just not OK to rock up to work, drain the life out of yourself and everyone else around you, do a half-assed effort - yet still expect to be paid for that.

Here 's the deal for all those Bludgers, it's simple:

Do what you said you would do, 
When you said you would do it,
The way you said you would do it! 
End of story.

It’s called having integrity, it’s called taking personal responsibility, it’s called doing an honest day’s work!

If you have bludgers in your team, you need to set the expectations with them on:

What they will do (clear goals & expected results),
When they will do it (clear timeframes); and
The way you expect them to do it (behaviours).

And if they don't do it, then you need to call them on it. Don't tolerate poor performance!

Don't accept mediocrity!

That's called leadership - that's what you are paid to do!

Blythe is a Premium member of Business Chicks, request her online business card and connect with her here.

Blythe Rowe is a leadership expert who has spent more than a decade in Senior People roles for some of Australia’s largest organisations. She is obsessed with the notion of driving ownership at all levels of business to create cultures, which maximise productivity, profitability and performance.