Toxic employees are few in number, but their ability to hurt your agency can’t be overstated.

They distract from your mission and create unnecessary stress. They intimidate supervisors and demoralize their peers. They’re the perpetual plaintiff who games the system to get their way. 

You can probably think of someone like this at your agency, but you aren’t sure how to effectively deal with them.

Confronting the Toxic Officer is not a traditional leadership course, but it will help you develop effective strategies for dealing with this small but toxic part of your workforce.

Identifying Toxic Officers

You’ll learn how to weed out a toxic employee before they’re ever hired. You will learn the common character traits among this group that have been identified by thousands of supervisors across the country.

You’ll also learn how tools such as background checks and the FTO process can help you identify these toxic individuals before they formally join your team.

Understanding How Toxic Employees Abuse the System

Some toxic officers might have already joined your agency. If so, this course will teach you how specifically these individuals abuse your systems. You’ll study discrimination, retaliation, and whistleblower protections. You’ll also learn about arbitration and review boards. 

And if it’s time to remove that employee from your staff, then you’ll need to know how performance evaluations and even separation agreements can be useful tools in mitigating potential damage from their departure.

You’ll also learn a critical component of effective discipline: if it’s not in writing, then it didn’t happen. 

Conclusion

Just because you know “that” employee doesn’t mean you have to be stuck with them for the next three decades. Learn the strategies to address misconduct and protect your agency’s integrity.

Here’s a comprehensive list of what you’ll learn in this course:

Recognizing the Toxic Officer

• What are the common character traits?
• The unleadable, the unfixable, the un-motivatable
• The impact of the toxic few on the agency

Identifying Toxic Individuals Before they Become Your Toxic Officer

• Background investigations—back to basics
• Utilizing the FTO process as a crucial part of the hiring process

Recognizing the Legal Avenues that Toxic Individuals Abuse

• Discrimination, retaliation and whistleblower protections
• Arbitration and personnel review boards
• If it’s not in writing, it didn’t happen

Confronting Toxic Officers

• Performance evaluation systems that reflect the realities in the field
• Progressive discipline—demonstrating a good faith effort to make all officers successful
• Separation agreements and toxic officers