About a billion people watched a ball drop in Times Square in New York City this past weekend, with around two million hearty souls shivering in the cold to see it in person. The ball is about 12 feet in diameter, made of crystal triangles crafted by artisans in Waterford City, Ireland. Every year, a portion of the triangles are replaced with new ones reflecting the theme for the upcoming year. 2017 was deemed to be the “gift of kindness.”

I’m all for kindness and respect in the world, and in the workplace. But when some employees continually exhibit negative behavior, resulting in lower productivity and dropping morale of your other employees, the time for kindness and good will toward all is over. It’s time to get deal with the toxic employee.

One of the triangles of the New Year’s Eve ball made in Waterford City, Ireland.

Take time at the start of a new year to deal with any constantly complaining and negative employees who are poisoning the environment for everyone else. The ones who up the drama in the office while lowering the productivity.

Here are a few tips on how to take control of the situation.

1. Document the behaviors of the employee.

Once you’ve been made aware of the negative behavior, contact the head of HR immediately so they can oversee the process.

Begin to keep track of it of the behaviors. Be specific: rather than recording the employee is frequently late, write down what days the employee was late and by how much. If the employee is spending hours gossiping with co-workers, have their supervisor keep an eye on them and record the time spent not working.

2. Document efforts by the company to alert them of these behaviors.

Have the supervisor meet with the employee, along with a member of the HR department to review the behaviors. Again, deal with specifics and make it clear the behavior is unacceptable. Keep copies of all written correspondence between the supervisor and the employee about the negative behaviors.

Shockingly, some employees have no idea of the effect of their behavior on their co-workers. When informed of it, they may become defensive and argumentative. Which is actually more proof of their ability to be toxic.

If these behaviors have appeared suddenly in a previously positive and productive employee, try to determine if there has been a precipitating incident. Did something happen in the workplace? There may be a larger issue you need to deal with. Or perhaps there is a problem at home and just calling attention to the change in behavior is enough to cause it to stop.

3. Develop a turnaround plan with a timeframe and measurable results.

Have the supervisor create a plan for the employee to improve the behaviors. Have the employee agree to the plan and sign it. Pick a date to meet again to review the plan.

4. Review the results and make a determination about retaining the employee.

If after the allotted timeframe has passed, the employee has not made any changes in their behavior, consider whether you are ready to terminate the employee. As with any termination, follow the advice of your lawyer and HR department.

As Robert Sher of CEO to CEO Inc. puts it, “My mantra is, ‘Repair or replace,’ as flawed team members cannot be left alone. If they are repairable in a short timeframe, it is worth the effort. But this must be a forced march, with a firm timeline for repair. Otherwise plan to make the replacement quickly, as teams with toxicity are more likely to fail to hit their objectives. That hurts the team, the company and damages the reputation of the team leader.”

5. Terminate the employee.

If all the efforts from you and other senior management have failed, cut your losses and get rid of the employee immediately. There’s no reason to allow them to stay and spread their toxicity. You can’t concern yourself with the amount of time spent training this person and the fact it may have been an error in judgment to hire them in the first place. Cut your losses and move on.

My book “How Not to Hire a Guy Like Me: Lessons Learned from CEOs’ Mistakes,” is now available as an ebook.