You solve a difficult staff problem by getting clear on exactly what your options are before you do anything else – not by guessing, not by hoping it resolves itself, and definitely not by jumping straight to termination.
That might not be the answer you were expecting. Most employers who come to us with a difficult staff issue have already skipped past this step. They’ve landed on “I want to terminate this person” before they’ve actually worked out whether that’s the right move, the safe move, or even the fastest way to fix the problem. Sometimes it is the right call. Often it isn’t – or it is, but not yet, and not the way they’re planning to do it.
Why the problem got this bad in the first place
Here’s something we see constantly: by the time an employer calls us, the issue has usually been going on far longer than they initially let on. What started as a small performance gap or a minor conduct issue has festered – sometimes for months, sometimes for years – until it’s become the thing that’s eating up your headspace every single day.
There’s usually a reason it got that far, and it’s rarely about the employee alone. A few patterns come up again and again:
The recruitment process didn’t set things up properly. If the hiring process didn’t test for the skills or behaviours the role actually needs, you can end up with a mismatch that was baked in from day one – not something that developed on the job.
There’s no real management structure. Without clear reporting lines, regular check-ins, or a defined process for raising concerns, there’s no healthy boundary between you and your staff member. Problems don’t get named early because there’s no natural point where they’d surface.
You’ve avoided the confrontation. This one is honest and it’s common. Difficult conversations are uncomfortable. Nobody enjoys sitting a staff member down and telling them their performance isn’t cutting it, or that their behaviour needs to change. So the conversation gets put off, and put off again, and the behaviour just keeps going because nothing has ever actually challenged it.
You’re worried they’ll leave if you push back. Especially in a tight labour market, or if the person holds specialist skills, there’s a real fear that raising the issue will tip them into resigning – and now you’re short-staffed on top of everything else. So the issue gets managed around instead of managed directly.
None of these are failures of character. They’re just what happens in a small business where the owner is doing fifteen jobs at once and HR isn’t one of them. But the result is the same either way: an issue that’s gone unaddressed for too long, staff behaviour that hasn’t been corrected, and an employer who’s now stuck, frustrated, and unsure what they’re even allowed to do.
Why guessing is the most expensive option
This is exactly the point where employers get themselves into trouble. Once you’re frustrated enough, it’s tempting to just act – write the warning, have the blunt conversation, terminate the employment – without actually knowing what your legal position is, what process you’re required to follow, or what the risks are if you get it wrong.
In Australia, employers have real obligations under the Fair Work Act and the relevant Modern Award before they can safely manage a difficult staff issue, particularly if it’s heading toward termination. Skip the right process, and even a completely justified decision can turn into an unfair dismissal claim, a general protections claim, or a WHS issue if there’s a psychosocial element involved. What should have been a contained staff management problem becomes a much bigger, much more expensive one – in legal costs, in time, and in stress.
This is not a moment to be guessing your way through. It’s a moment to know precisely what your options are for the specific situation you’re in, because the right answer for a performance issue is different to the right answer for a misconduct issue, and the right answer changes again depending on what’s already been documented, what’s already been said, and how long the issue has been running.
What actually solves it
The employers who come out the other side of a difficult staff issue in good shape are the ones who get clarity first and act second. That means understanding:
- Whether this is genuinely a performance issue, a conduct issue, or both
- What’s already been documented – and what hasn’t been, but should be from here
- What process needs to happen before any formal action is taken
- What the realistic range of outcomes looks like, so you’re not blindsided
Once you know that, the path forward stops feeling like a guessing game. You can have the conversation you’ve been avoiding, put the right process in place, and start correcting the behaviour with confidence – rather than hoping it goes away or gambling on a decision you’re not sure is defensible.
That’s the difference between reacting to a difficult staff problem and actually solving it. If you’re in the middle of one right now, the fastest way to get unstuck is to get clarity on your specific situation before you take the next step – that’s exactly what we help employers do every day.
Answered by Jackie Strachan, Director, HR Tactics – [Published 24.08.2026]. HR Tactics services employers across all industries Australia. HR Tactics also has specialist HR expertise in the dental industry and a position on the Local Buy People & Wellbeing (HR) Provider Panel, servicing local governments throughout Queensland.
