|
done with patient care, she hangs around reading charts, slowly
cleaning up, etc. I am getting aggravated because I feel she is
taking advantage of the time clock to be paid more. Am I overreacting?
Should I just keep quiet or tell her how I feel? I do not want her
to feel like I am "nickel-dime-ing" her.
Harried by the Hygienist
Your
institution of a time clock demonstrates your desire to keep a very
close account of the dollars that you spend on your staff. It may
also reflect your desire to send a message to the staff regarding
a problem that you are ashamed to express openly. You are communicating
to the staff that there is a problem and this is the solution….but
is it really a good solution to the problem?
Your
staff wants to believe that you appreciate their efforts and attention
to detail and are willing to pay them for it. Since you
cannot measure an employee's efforts on a time clock, you may be
insulting them by this solution. From this perspective,
there is no win-win, because effort and value is not the issue.
Every
doctor has expectations of himself and levels of performance that
are comfortable and professional. The same can be said for the staff.
They have expectations of their own performance and levels of comfort
where they feel balanced by the amount of money they receive and
the effort that they give to the business.
When
a staff member feels that they are not compensated adequately for
the value that they provide, there is often a covert event, attitude
or behavior which manifests the disgruntled employees’ true
feelings. The time clock is really incidental to this issue.
The
fact that the employee would take offense at your desire to monitor
their time and your money betrays their true sense of worth. Staff
members who are measured by their performance and paid adequately
and fairly have nothing to hide or fear and therefore take no offense
in your counting the dollars. The same cannot be said for staff
members who are not as honest and accurate about their efforts and
abilities. People who do not give a dollars worth of effort
for every dollar they paid are well aware of their deceit.
It is the discovery of this deceit to which they take offense.
Just
as the doctor can ask if he is overreacting, so can we ask if the
staff member is overreacting and why? As the leader, you are reacting,
because you sense that there is something that is not right. I will
offer you that you had concerns about this employee long before
this precipitating event. It has simply raised your awareness of
your discomfort with their performance.
Suggesting
that a leader should keep quiet and be afraid of upsetting the troops
is not the behavior of a person in command of their destiny.
Leaders believe that they have the best interests of their staff,
and therefore they propose policies with great boldness in an effort
to demonstrate how good they feel about their principles and the
intended outcome.
The
doctor models the values and principles that are guiding the practice,
and from this perspective, the staff is free to either jump on the
crusade or figure out a reason to be dismissed. The truth
of this matter is that when you watch her take advantage of your
time clock, does this observation evoke your desire to give her
more responsibility or less responsibility? The answer
is obvious when examined from this perspective.
The
concept of quibbling over money with the staff completely misses
the point. Your desire not to spend needless money makes perfect
sense, however, when that desire is confronted by a person who has
no intentions of giving you fair value, why should you be concerned
about quibbling over pennies with them when they are not quibbling
over dollars they’ve taken from you ever since the day they
started work.
In
summary, any staff member that takes offense is a staff member who
has not been honest with you. It is the discovery of their dishonesty
that they take offense to and not the time clock. There was a problem
with this staff member long before the time clock appeared.
The
Coach
Want your issues answered? Ask the coach@mckenziemgmt.com.
McKenzie Management's Executive
Coaching Services
Unleashing your potential to maximize
your performance.
Want information? ... 
now! |
