Forget trying to change the behavior of difficult employees. You probably can’t. Instead, “change the way you deal with them,” advises Patricia H. White, senior consultant at the Center for Organizational Effectiveness, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, VA. Small businesses, especially, should learn to deal with difficult employees if they’re valuable, notes John Sarno, president of the New Jersey Employer’s Association in Verona, NJ. “Turnover costs are large for a small business,” he says. “You can always fire someone but you’re going to have to replace that person.

There are times when dealing with the problem is the most cost-effective thing to do.” Here are five types of difficult employees and some suggested ways of managing them:

• The poor listener. “The major problem with poor listeners is that they misperceive a message or instruction and then go to work on the project,” says Sarno. “They do it wrongly because they’ve misunderstood what the task is. Then they’ll say, ‘This is what you told me to do, so it’s your fault.’ The poor listener needs constant feedback,” he says. “Ask him to repeat what the task is. Say, ‘Can you just explain back what the project is?’ Then build in milestones or sub-tasks that require the worker to report back at intervals. That way you’ll know that he is performing the task correctly.”

• The complainer. Whiners think they have a clear vision of how things should be, yet they look to others to resolve problems, says White, who uses Robert Bramson’s book entitled Coping With Difficult People in the classroom. “They try to make everything your problem. Turn it back on them. Say, ‘I see what you’re talking about. Now, what do you plan to do about it?’ Listen and acknowledge what he’s saying. Then get him into a problem-solving mode.”

• The sexual harasser. This person won’t stop telling dirty, sexist or racist jokes, doesn’t want to take down the girlie or guy calendar, likes to grope or brush up against a fellow employee and may even assault a coworker. The best way to handle such persons is to make a written policy condemning sexual harassment, giving each employee a copy and putting into place an investigative procedure for handling complaints, advises California attorney Barbara Kate Repa, author of Firing Without Fear (Nolo.com). Separately and privately question the accuser and the accused. Interview others to see if they’re aware of any harassment. Document everything and keep the complainer apprised of your actions. If the complaint proves valid, consider a strong reprimand and notation in the harasser’s personnel file, mandatory counseling, probation, transferring or firing the person.

• The bulldozer. These people will try to run over you. They are knowledgeable and will bombard you with facts and figures. They are know-it-alls. So, you’ll need to be assertive, says White. Avoid direct challenges to their expertise. But “stand up to them. Let them get it all out, then say, ‘I understand what you’re saying but here’s the way I see it.’ Paraphrase main points back to them. Get them to see alternatives, and do your homework, so they don’t dismiss you as incompetent.”

• The passive-negative worker. This person has a “can’t do” attitude and rarely seems motivated, according to Sarno. “His productivity is low, but, worse, he tends to drag down the morale of other employees.” Isolate him so that he doesn’t drag down the team. Don’t give him attention. Attend to the good workers and high performers. Send a message to the passive-negative person that “he’s on thin ice. Either he cleans up his act, or he’s out. Difficult people rarely see themselves as difficult,” says White.

Stop hoping they will change or disappear. Instead, listen, analyze and try to understand their perspectives. Then formulate a strategy to reinforce their productive responses and discourage negative responses.

Write to Iris Taylor at P.O. Box 747, Powhatan, VA 23139 or e-mail her at ILTaylor@aol.com.