Knowing The Consequences Will Help Prevent Staff From Breaking The Rules

“Just wait until your father gets home!” It wasn’t often that my mom had to resort to threats like this but when she did, my brothers and I were aware there would be consequences for our negative actions or poor behavior. Like it or not, Dad’s punishment always taught us a lesson, which was never do that again or suffer the consequences. It did not take us long to know the difference.

Perhaps people do not understand that consequences actually have a function. Despite the “punishing” reputation of consequences, their primary purpose is not to penalize but rather to teach and help guide our actions at home, school, work and in our lives in general. Go through a red traffic light and suffer the consequences of a car crash or worse. Cheat on your test and the consequence will find you in the principal’s office. Walk out of a store without paying for your merchandise … well, you get the picture.

It is no different in medical practices. In order for our offices to function in such a way that they meet our expectations of excellence and success, specific consequences must be in place. Otherwise, staff may continue to come in late, schedule patients where and when they feel like it, set their own working hours or abuse cell phone privileges. Why? Usually, the reason is simple: They can.

Having an employee manual will help to identify and set policy standards equally across the board; clarify the rules and regulations of the practice; and address employee conduct, discipline and termination actions. It is indeed a necessity. However, just having static, written policies is not enough. Policies must go hand in hand with implementation. If there is no penalty for abusing them, they may just as well be meaningless pieces of paper. Do you feel your “verbal warnings” should be enough? Without attaching consequence to back up repeated unacceptable conduct, continuous warnings become nothing more than empty threats.

If you are ready to give new significance to your policies, try following these four steps.

Step 1: Develop an employee policy manual. If you already have one, update it and review it with staff. When rules are in place, it provides a path for performance to fall into place. It is also an excellent tool to help clarify employer and employee expectations and guidelines, limit confusion, and reduce conflict and stress.

Step 2: Train, set expectations and communicate. Staff have the ability to do so much but they do not possess psychic powers. They cannot read your mind. When things remain unexplained, it creates room for guesswork and poor outcomes. Make a point of speaking with staff directly as nothing is more effective than honest, face-to-face communication. Staff meetings and regular performance reviews are the perfect settings for this communication to take place.

Step 3: Enforce policy. That doesn’t mean playing dictator or micromanaging. Rather, it means having the ability to deal with and address unacceptable behaviors head-on as they occur. It’s concerning to hear, “Oh, my doctor doesn’t care if we _____ (fill in the blank) because he sees us doing that all the time and never says anything to us.” Did you know that saying nothing is actually a form of approval? Your disciplinary policy should outline first-, second- and third-time offenses with consequential action as well as reasons for immediate termination.

Step 4: Be an example. Don’t expect staff to follow the rules if there are none or if you do not follow the rules too. Setting an example of acceptable behavior helps your staff live up to your standards. Believe it or not, employees want to be managed and good management always starts at the top.