Carefronting Employees in Your Midst …
You’ve been recently promoted to manager of your department. You loved being on staff, but the management role hasn’t been what you expected. Your pre-management department friends seem to have new expectations from you (as you do from them). The camaraderie you relished for the past two years has almost disappeared.
On top of that, Bertha, one of the best employees you’ve ever worked with seems to have had a personality transplant. She routinely challenges your authority, grumbles about anything and everything, and appears to be the creator of some of the conflict your department is experiencing.
The quickest way to reduce red ink culpraits is to address them when inappropriate behavior surfaces. Your reward for resolution is increased retention, higher productivity, increased patient satisfaction and a less stressful workplace.
Your solution cycle starts with observation, communication, confrontation and spelling out clearly what the consequence is if the behavior continues.
- Recognize that soft skills—effective communication and conflict resolution— are as critical as clinical skills.
- Make effective confronting a habit, not something that is done as a last resort.
- Teach communication and conflict resolution to everyone on staff.
- Identify Red Ink styles and behaviors and confront them immediately.
- Let marginal employees go. Learn to de-hire.
- Create a no tolerance zone—bad behaviors are not tolerated or allowed. Period.
Don’t concentrate on being the “employer of choice.” Instead, become the Employer of Choice of Choice Employees. The real choice should be to keep the keepers and lose the losers. The end result is a healthier workplace . . . a win-win for all.