An employee who asks an excessive amount of questions drains your time and may eat away at your patience. New employees often have a large number of questions. If an employee continues asking questions about everything he does, it may show a sign of insecurity or perfectionism. Learning how to deal with needy employees takes practice and patience, but the process helps the employees gain more confidence. You will also be able to reclaim your work time when you get the employee in the habit of solving his own problems.

Meet with the employee to discuss the roadblocks she faces in her job. Determine if she needs additional training, more authority or better access to resources to perform her job without so many questions.

Provide a list of resources, either online or in print, that the employee is able to access to help answer questions for himself. Let him know that you trust him to research the answers to the questions.

Press the employee to solve problems independently rather than relying on you all the time. Instead of solving the problem or handling the legwork yourself, offer the employee suggestions to fix the situation or find the necessary answers.

Allow the employee a limited amount of time to meet with you to answer questions. This forces the employee to focus the questions while reducing the amount of time you spend on the situation.

Assign a mentor to the employee who is able to provide hands-on training and insight. Meet with the mentor to come up with training ideas or ways to handle the excessive questioning.

Praise the employee when you notice her taking initiative to find her own answers and complete her job duties. Find opportunities to give her honest positive feedback to encourage her to continue working independently.