Staff tattle tailing

[chez29]

I seem to be having a lot of staff tattle tailing to me all the while. I've always said to staff to deal with it to themselves but it's getting to a point now where it's really annoying me know. It just seem to be little things brought to me like so and so didn't take the bins out or so and so didn't do x. I always reply well did you tell them and they say 'no' and I tell them to raise it with each other.

How else do other's deal with this?

[Cait]

Do you have a chain of command? Room leaders? Deputy manager or whatever? I think it needs to be raised at staff meetings or appraisal/supervision meetings so that it can be stopped. Is it the same members of staff each time? Are they trying to get brownie points?

[chez29]

Yes I have room leaders but they are at a point where they are saying they don't know how to deal with it. I have got supervisions to do before Christmas so I will be raising it then.

I also don't want to seem to negative, I already have member of staff who comments what have I done now and are you mad at me. I hate to say it but I think its mainly because its a young team.

[Running Bunny]

I agree with others - supervisions to raise the issues personally with those who are the main instigators and also to discuss with the room leaders different strategies on how to deal with it.

Staff meetings can be used to raise the issue generally, without pointing any fingers on the lines of 'we all need to work together and do the good jobs as well as the rubbish jobs...'

We had a terrible time at our playgroup with staff not pulling their weight so the supervisor, with the support of the committee ended up doing a really strict rota for absolutely everything - who was sat at what table on arrival, who would do register, snack prep, craft table, nappies, outdoor checklists....you get the idea. There was no time for spontaneity as everyone had a place to be and a time to do things. It stopped the talking, but stifled the creativity and individuality of the staff and children.

You could always 'threaten' them with doing this if they prefer. Might be enough to realise that it is petty things that they are quibbling over?

[Guest Nuby]

What is tattle tailing?

[Cait]

Telling tales. Just little snippets of 'she did this' 'he said that' type of things, continuous drip,drip,drip,

[Guest Nuby]

Telling tales. Just little snippets of 'she did this' 'he said that' type of things, continuous drip,drip,drip,

ah yes! .....so wearing!

[Fredbear]

This is not good for anyone, especially the general feel of a setting/ provision.

I would be having a talk with all staff at the same time explaining it is not acceptable to keep having little grumbles brought to your attention and that you expect all staff to work together to provide the most comfortable environment for both adults and children.

Basically sort it out amongst themselves.( this can be very waring on Managers or Room leaders).

That said if you have staff not pulling their weight then this could be discussed at individual supervisions.

[Masha]

When we went through a phase of this happening, I got so fed up of people expecting me to sort out every little issue that eventually I took the approach of getting the complainant and complainee ( is that a word?!) together as soon as possible.

For example, someone would come to me and complain about so and so not doing x, y or z. I would say "let's get together with so and so right now and you can tell them how that made you feel." I would then sit them down together and basically arbitrate the complaint.

It was very time consuming at first, but after a while I got fewer complaints, and people learned to sort things out between themselves.

[Guest itsnoelquinn]

My friend got fed up of this too! In the end she put a big folder on her shelf, and every time someone came in with a petty problem, she would take down the folder, take out a piece of paper and say "So you want to make a formal complaint about a colleague?" Of course they said "No, not really, not a formal complaint" and so she would put the folder back, and tell them that if they have a major concern she will deal with it, but other issues they should sort out as adults between themselves. It worked!

[Guest itsnoelquinn]

sometimes you wonder who the children are!