Craig Silverman of HireAbility discusses with the Wall Street Journal tips that managers can use to work through problems with employees.

Define the Problem: Craig Silverman says a midlevel executive at a prior employer began coming to work unshaven, in dirty wrinkled shirts and smelling. “People didn’t want to get into the elevator with him,” says Mr. Silverman, who was a vice president at the firm. He approached the problem head-on, in a blunt discussion in private. “You need to be clear on exactly what the problem is and what changes need to be made,” says Mr. Silverman, now an executive vice president at HireAbility.com LLC, a staffing firm in Salem, N.H. The message to the employee: improve his look, or he could face possible termination. From the next day on, the executive wore a pressed white shirt and tie, Mr. Silverman says.