High Cost of Doing Nothing Part 2: Underperforming Staff

All too often, dentists choose to ignore underperforming staff instead of addressing the problem. Why? Because doing nothing seems like a better option than going through the time and hassle of correcting the situation. But ignorance is not bliss.

Whether your employees are texting during work hours, slacking on the little things, stirring you-know-what among staff or committing major errors, your under-performing employees, to put it harshly, are stealing from you. The focus and energy these employees sap from the practice deprive you of much more.

You can not be as effective in your role when you are worrying about whether your staff is doing their job. Add to that the internal conflict that can develop when an employee doesn’t pull her own weight or “gets away” with it and others have to pick up the slack. The rest of the team begin to resent it and factions form. The next thing you know, trust and teamwork has eroded and you have a full blown dysfunctional team.

When all you wanted was to avoid all the hassles, you end up spending more time managing the inefficiencies and conflict.

Enough already. You can no longer afford to work with people who are inefficient, ineffective, and cost your practice time, money and negative energy.

The first step is to admit your role in allowing it to occur, take a big breath, then set out your plan for a course correction.

          Use this step-by-step approach to do away with under-performers

Define your expectations:
Expectations are reasonable only when they are clearly conveyed and that is where you should begin. Before you decide to let anyone go, apologize for your lack of leadership. Then clearly convey your expectations and give your staff the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to change and perform at a higher level.

There are a number of areas that come up often in discussions with dentists and may have been overlooked in your employee manual. While they may seem like a no-brainer, you simply have to spell it out for them. These details have to do with work ethic, performance, code of conduct, and dress code. Bring your group together and discuss them along with other important expectations. Here’s a partial list:

-Dress and personal hygiene
-What is and is not appropriate to discuss with patients
-Cell phone use during work hours and breaks
-What to do when there is down time
-Calling in “sick”: advance notice and when it is appropriate NOT to come to work
-Showing up on time and being prepared before the work day begins
-Unacceptable behavior with fellow team members (ie: non-communication, triangulation, favoritism, tattling, passive-aggressive behavior, raising your voice)
-Responsibility to identify, call attention to, and catch errors before they happen – no matter who’s job it may be

Once these expectations are clear, everyone must agree upon them. You must also outline the consequences if the expectations are not met and emphasize that you will hold each person accountable.

Follow through with consequences:
Whatever your approach, stick to it. For instance, if you establish a one strike rule, one violation equals one strike. That’s it. You formally put them on notice, in writing, and monitor improvement with a specific deadline for a follow up evaluation.

Cut them loose:
Seriously. Fire employees who don’t get with the program. Get rid of the bad energy, increase your chances for a healthy and productive team. Your documentation will provide the support and justification for letting them go and it will demonstrate to the rest of the team that you are committed to a higher standard.

Provide lots of positive feedback and recognition:
Start establishing a culture of excellence by continually recognizing those who are performing at a high level.
-Verbally mention their performance in the moment, in front of patients and co-workers.
-Take time during team meetings to call attention to a team member’s exemplary work.
-Plan on recognizing high performance with unexpected recognition such as a gift card, or one time bonus to show appreciation to the group or individually.

If you aren’t getting your money’s worth, make a change in the way you address staff who aren’t living up to your standards and expectations. Start today because there IS a high cost for doing nothing.

Top 5 professional habits you should commit to in 2014

With every new year, comes an overwhelming amount of commentary on new year resolutions and goals. A lot of them are common sense no brainers mixed with an equal amount of recommendations we know are unattainable. Reflecting upon 2013, I would like to shift the conversation to some things I believe have become overlooked.

I have discovered that many people have forgotten the basics. It annoys me when the professionals I work with don’t afford me these common courtesies. If you want to gain respect from your colleagues, patients, customers and employees and you want them to offer you the same respect in return, it is absolutely essential that you follow these very basic rules of business etiquette in 2014.

Here are my TOP 5 No-Brainers every business professional should commit to in the new year:

Number 5: Don’t interrupt.
Of course, there are some exceptions to this rule and if you made it through high school, you can surely figure out what those are. I’m talking about people who cut you off in mid-sentence because they believe what they have to say is more important than what you are expressing. It indicates they are not listening. It comes off as rude, disrespectful and confrontational. If you are guilty of this, listen more, talk less. If someone else violates this rule, let them know you weren’t finished with your thought.

Number 4: Do what you say and say what you do.
If you tell someone you are going to do something, don’t just talk about it. Do it! If you aren’t sure you will follow through, don’t commit to it. How many times have you been disappointed by someone who has said they were going to do something then dropped the ball? And it adds additional insult when they don’t give you the courtesy of letting you know, which leads me to 4a:

4a) If you commit to something then discover it was unrealistic or you can’t follow through, own it.   It’s as simple as saying you’ve discovered you’ve bitten off more than you can chew or your time commitments have gotten the best of you. You will continue to earn respect from your peers, co-workers, and employees when you are honest with them about your shortcomings.

Number 3: If you change your mind, say so.
Everyone has that right. But changing your mind and not telling us is not OK. People will have different expectations and you will inevitably disappoint them – possibly make them angry – if you don’t tell them your thinking has changed. We will continue to think you have your original mindset unless you tell us otherwise.

Number 2: If you are in a meeting or conversation, DO NOT LOOK AT YOUR CELL PHONE!
We’ve all been on the receiving side of someone who shifts their attention from us to their “next-best friend”. Why would anyone think this is appropriate? This is rude and disrespectful. Period. But it is occurring at epic proportions these days. Just because others engage in this behavior doesn’t mean it’s OK. It says they could care less about what’s happening outside the edges of their smartphone screen – so why should we? Business owners and CEOs can often be the biggest violators of this. Regardless of how important someone is, your time is equally important. If someone does this to you, stop talking until they look up and tell them you’d be happy to continue when they aren’t pre-occupied. Let’s shut this behavior down in 2014.

Number 1: Reply to emails. And do it in a timely manner.
Just like the sign in the public bathroom stall that says; “please flush after use”, this is so basic that I shouldn’t have to mention it. That being said, a large percentage of the emails I send out go unanswered. If email isn’t your thing, tell people up front or simply don’t give out your email address. Otherwise, people expect an acknowledgement or reply – THAT’S WHY WE SEND EMAILS! If you don’t reply, it’s the same as saying you don’t care or the sender isn’t worth your time. Your lack of response indicates your lack of interest which erodes your credibility, regardless of your position or role in any business.

Are you starting to see a pattern here? Every one of these has to do with professional courtesy and respect. And if we want people to respect us and behave in a certain way, we have to commit to that behavior ourselves. That is the hallmark of a leader. And yes, these are basic. That’s where we have to begin to build a solid foundation of professionalism, gain respect from others and to further develop our effective communication skills.

Do you have something you would like to add to this list? Let’s start a dialog and spread the word in 2014.