I think you missed the point where I mention the chronic late comer. These are a totally different ball of wax. This was primarily about snap reactions to single or rare occurences.

If this is indeed causing a problem. Discuss it, however, don’t do it right when the salesperson comes in. You are worked up, and your approach will be less than optimal.

When you do have the discussion. Lay out expectations, possible ramafications. However, you can’t lay out consequences that you aren’t willing to enforce. Don’t threathen with firing the best sales person in the company if you know that your boss will counter that decision later.

Talk to your boss, decide what they want from this person, And make plans accordingly.

Now what?

In the workplace, however, for those in “higher up” positions, treating your subordinates with dignity and respect is not only the right thing to do, but also helps to increase their productivity. I would love to see a study done to see the productivity levels with employees who are treated well vs. those who are made to feel less than or put down. Could make for a great dissertation topic. But not for me…I’ve already done mine. LOL!

Thanks for this GREAT article on such an interesting topic. You’ve brought up some great points and gave some amazing suggestions!

Dr. KC
http://www.DOCintheBiz.com
http://www.GLCzone.com

That is a very good question. This as you noticed deals primarily with single occurrences.

The Employee who is often late. Quite Commonly falls into two categories. 1. They have something in their mornings outside of their control that can slow them down. Dropping children off at school can be such a reason. Some schools only accept children after a certain time in the mornings, and I know from experience that there is no telling how long this will take. I worked with a private school that had a massive traffic problem every morning and even those arriving ealy could be blocked from getting out on time.

If this is the case, and the employee otherwise is a productive member of the company. I would suggest finding a solution where flex time is used if at all possible. Some positions are not able to accommodate this, and in such cases it might not be possible to accommodate.

2. Some employees are just late by habit, if it is a repeated problem without what appears to be a common denominator. A corrective “talk” may be necessary. However, even such a talk should be approached from a problem solving angle. And not the Boss V. Employee approach that is so much more common.

Unless the position itself is completely menial (in which case you have to ask yourself why you are paying someone to do it). Solving the problem is much more cost effective than firing the employee simply because it removes the chance aspect. Hiring a new person doesn’t automatically mean you get a problem free employee, and you will still have to suffer some loss in productivity in training them.

Thank you for your comment and Question, i hope that cleared it up a little.

For me, I’m very strict when it comes to me being on time. I am always early because you’re not ontime if your ontime (make sense?). If I am ever late, I freak out because it reflects poorly on me. If I am ever late, my boss knows something had to have come up because it is so rare that I’m late and she makes sure I’m okay.

How would you really confront a frequently late employee without the combative approach?

~the GURU

Negative begets negative. A positive approach will create a better outcome than a challenging welcome like: “You’re Late!”

It was refreshing to read your non-combative approach to such a common problem in the workplace. I’m looking forward to reading your next post.