As a business owner or manager in your organization, you’re responsible for leading your employees in their careers and making sure they’re doing their jobs efficiently. When you have great employees, this aspect of your job is effortless. But eventually, you’re bound to come across an employee who doesn’t measure up to your company’s standard of work. This can make your job very difficult.

Having tough conversations with employees who are underperforming or having difficulties getting along with co-workers is not something a leader enjoys. It can be very awkward and uncomfortable. As a business leader, it’s crucial to meet these problems head on. Failure to discuss issues with your employees could make problems worse. Here are best practices to help make difficult conversations with your employees more productive:

Don’t wait to address the issue — Once you notice there is a problem with an employee, deal with it immediately. Waiting to address an issue only intensifies the problem and sends mixed messages to your team. Meeting the situation head on will let other employees know what is acceptable and create a more productive workforce.

Avoid negative language — When you address an issue with an employee, avoid talking down or speaking in an aggressive tone to him or her. When you sound aggravated or speak forcefully, people tend to become defensive; make sure you’re not attacking the person when you’re trying to solve a problem.

Change your pronoun use — When you have a tough conversation with an employee, using words such as “you” that single people out when addressing certain issues can make the employee feel attacked and keep him or her from listening. It’s less threatening if you focus on your observation and ability to help your employee; after all, that’s your job. Simply changing one word can do wonders for the positive feedback you receive from the employee you are addressing issues with. All of a sudden, you and your subordinate are a team working together to resolve the issue.

Having conversations regarding an employee’s negative performance, attitude or other workplace issues can be tough. Most leaders prefer to have the positive conversations instead. But, you can create a meaningful way of addressing problems and build a lasting impression on your employees by following these best practices when having difficult conversations with your team.

Christy Skojec Taylor is co-owner of Express Employment Professionals in Rocky Mount.