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Four Things I Need You to Know When You are Late for Work

Author: Paul Edwards
Paul Edwards

Paul Edwards

Paul Edwards is the CEO and Co-Founder of CEDR HR Solutions and author of the blog HR Base Camp. Since 2006, CEDR has been the nation’s leading provider of customized dental employee handbooks and on-demand HR solutions, helping dentists and their office managers successfully handle employee issues, prevent and resolve disputes before they lead to lawsuits, and safely navigate the complex employment law landscape. Our Solution Center is staffed by HR experts and attorneys. Call 866-414-6056 or visit www.cedrsolutions.com.
11.30.15 / 12:05 pm

How long a patient has to wait for their appointment is a big factor in patient satisfaction at most dental practices. So, it’s no surprise that one of the most frustrating HR issues dentists and practice managers have to deal with is an employee who is habitually late, and who doesn’t seem to understand that this lateness is not just their own problem. Instead, it impacts the practice, the patients, and their fellow employees.

Have you ever heard chronic lateness excused with a breezy phrase such as, “I’m just late; that’s who I am!” It must be special to be that person. The whole world is their private stage, and every time they appear, tiny trumpets toot “ta-daaa!” Meanwhile, life gets a little more difficult for everyone around them, no matter how great an employee they are the rest of the time.

My team and I help managers and practice owners address topics like tardiness and absenteeism every day, so we’ve cracked the code for talking to an employee—or anyone, for that matter—about being late. Here’s a sample script containing the four things you need to address.

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Thing #1—the issue.

“When you are late for work, it makes us all late. No, seriously, whether you realize it or not, you play a key role here as [position title]. So when you are not here, all the fantastic things you do are missing. Which leads me to the next thing…”

Thing #2—the impact.

“When you are not here to do the things we need you to do, someone else has to do your job for you. That means that they, believe it or not, might as well be late, too. Why? Because when they are doing your job, they are not doing theirs, so they show up as missing, too!”

Thing #3—the impact of their tardiness on how they are perceived.

“I’m not sure if you realize that, when you are late, the sum total of how we perceive you is ‘late.’ Contrast that with how great it is when you are here, getting things done and being appreciated for all that you do. When that happens, we perceive you as a fantastic professional doing your best. So being late literally redefines you as a person in our eyes: a person who needs other people to get things done for them. I know you don’t want to be defined that way, or to cause problems that the whole team has to deal with.”

Thing #4—they need to make a choice, or you will have to.

“So here’s what I need you to know. I don’t feel like I can—or even should—make you be here on time. It’s a choice you are going to have to make. But what I can control and make decisions around is who I work with. And I am letting you know that I am going to choose not to work with you if you are going to be late. Please don’t make me make that difficult decision.”

Your way or the highway: Specifically request self-correction at the end of Thing #4

Wrap up your discussion with a specific, measurable request: “Can you be on time? Because this is something I HAVE TO GET FROM YOU.

If your employee answers with anything other than, “Yes, absolutely,” hold them to a yes. Tell them that “I’ll try my best” is not what you are looking for as an answer.

If they need time to think about it, have them take it right then. Give them five bucks to go get a cup of coffee, and then they can come back and let you know what their commitment is going to be, going forward. Get an affirmative answer, and thank them for giving you a chance to express your concerns and give them feedback.

Or you can throw the book at them (except, you know, don’t throw the book)

Of course, there’s always the good, old-fashioned method. You can always pull out your employee handbook, tell the employee that the rules say they have to be on time, reiterate that their shift starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m., issue a Corrective Action, et cetera, et cetera. I am all for that, but eventually it stops working, because everybody already knows the rules.

The 1, 2, 3, 4 approach only works if you are up for it and are willing to bring a little levity to the conversation, along with, in most cases, a serious close. (For those of you reading closely, this script is really an example of Progressive Corrective Coaching, and a modified version of the FIRR technique I’ve discussed here before.) This approach can bring some refreshing honesty to the discussion. Better yet, it should always leave you with a firm commitment from the employee to self-correct and step back up.

For a good employee gone astray, this may be all you need! And for a mediocre one who is already inching toward the door, your documentation of your specific request, and the results or non-results of that request, are critical steps in the process of safely letting them go.

Paul Edwards

Paul Edwards is the CEO and Co-Founder of CEDR HR Solutions and author of the blog HR Base Camp. Since 2006, CEDR has been the nation’s leading provider of customized dental employee handbooks and on-demand HR solutions, helping dentists and their office managers successfully handle employee issues, prevent and resolve disputes before they lead to lawsuits, and safely navigate the complex employment law landscape. Our Solution Center is staffed by HR experts and attorneys. Call 866-414-6056 or visit www.cedrsolutions.com.

Paul Edwards

Paul Edwards

Paul Edwards is the CEO and Co-Founder of CEDR HR Solutions and author of the blog HR Base Camp. Since 2006, CEDR has been the nation’s leading provider of customized dental employee handbooks and on-demand HR solutions, helping dentists and their office managers successfully handle employee issues, prevent and resolve disputes before they lead to lawsuits, and safely navigate the complex employment law landscape. Our Solution Center is staffed by HR experts and attorneys. Call 866-414-6056 or visit www.cedrsolutions.com.

7 responses to “Four Things I Need You to Know When You are Late for Work”

  1. I’ve found when I try to force the issue and “throw the book” at them, it works out negatively and they just end up mad. One method that worked for me was to tack that extra time on to the end of their day, if their 15 minutes late, they stay 15 minutes longer, now it doesn’t solve the late problem, people are still put out because that individual is late, however, they usually stop being late after a few days of this.

  2. Usually the people at my office that are late on a regular basis do not think it is a problem. I will definitely use this article for my employees. Thank you, well written.

  3. This is so true. I feel like I am fairly simpathetic to situations that can happen to make someone late, but sometimes I don’t think people are actually realizing the ramifications of them being late.

  4. […] The Dental Geeks “Four Things I Need You to Know When You are Late for Work,” Paul Edwards writes that no matter how great you are at your job when you’re late, you throw […]

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