Realize that if the work environment and the job are poorly designed, you will continue to bring in highly talented individuals who will not do well—not because of them, but because of bad job design. Therefore, before you reprimand, analyze. What you find may surprise you.
• Create a Distraction Elimination Plan (DEP) for your distracted employees. Think back to your elementary school days. You likely had a few kids in the class who always bothered others, threw spit balls, or just stared out the window for hours. What did the teacher do? If the kids were disruptive to the class, she'd move them up front near her. If they were window gazers, she'd orient their desk so they could no longer see the window. No matter what the disruptive behavior, she knew what to do because she had a plan in mind for it.