Set a time in a week or two when the employee and you will get together again to discuss whether the exercise has resulted in improvement. It is up to you whether you want to continue having
the employee record all extraneous conversations.

• Ask the employee to prequalify conversations. When management
monitors excessive talking, it feels ominously like Big Brother, so don’t put yourself in that position. Prequalifying should always be
done by the employee. Although the employee may not be as stringent as you would be, your chances of long-term behavioral
change are greatest if the employee is in charge of prequalifying her or his own conversations. Prequalifying can be as simple as a three-question test that the employee asks him- or herself before participating in a conversation with a coworker.

• Is this conversation critical to my completing the tasks I must
perform today?
• Should this conversation take place now, or would it be just as
productive if it were held at a scheduled meeting or on break?
• If my manager were here, would she urge me to have this conversation now rather than at a later time?

If the answers to all three of these questions are yes, the employee should feel comfortable having the conversation. This may be a time-consuming practice at first, but soon the three screening questions will become second nature—taking only seconds. Review improvements in a week or two before taking any other steps. The talking habit has a way of creeping back in if the manager doesn’t follow up.

• Deal with the geography of the problem. Sometimes, certain places become a designated zone for goofing off. Like a siren beckoning to a sailor, these spots where chatty employees congregate encourage employees to stand around and talk. The classic is the water cooler. Employee lounges and break rooms are notorious. Smoking areas and outdoor patios often tempt employees to take longer breaks than agreed upon. Smokers, especially, evoke great resentment among employees who do not smoke and who feel that smoke breaks reward smokers for a bad habit.

Taken From: 201 Ways to Turn Any Employee Into a STAR Performer