How do you handle the tardy high performer that you can't afford to lose?

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Good Morning.  Here is a quote from Mark Manson, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (highly recommend), to think about as your day begins.

"When we fail to choose things for ourselves, we unwittingly outsource our lives to the world around us.

If you don't choose how to use your time, others will choose for you.  If you don't choose what is important, others will choose for you.  If you don't choose what to think or believe, others will choose for you.

There are only two outcomes in this life:  Either you choose who you are- or it will be chosen for you."

Special thanks to our sponsor, Icon.  be sure to check out their white paper below.

Elevate your leadership

This past week, an NHA on an online forum asked this question.

"How do you discipline an employee for excessive tardiness and stick to it when you need them, and they are a high performer?"

It's a great question and a scenario we have all faced.

Let's dive in.

I have learned a few things about personnel management over the years.  Some of them, I have learned the hard way.

Here are the facts about poor performance

1. There is always more to the story.

2. No matter how valid the reason is, unaddressed poor behavior is always noticed by others.

3. You will lose the trust of your team if the poor behavior continues to go unchecked.

How do those truths apply to this specific situation?

1. There is something more to why this employee is late. 

2. His/her co-workers don't know the whole story.  All they see is their co-worker consistently showing up late for work.

3. The team is asking themselves, and maybe even each other questions like "Why is she allowed to be late, and I'm not?"  And "How come I was disciplined for forgetting to document my ADLs last month, but she's allowed to be late all the time, and leadership lets it slide?"

You and your team need to be aware of how the behavior in question is impacting your culture and being perceived by others.  You also need to find out the root cause of the behavior and do everything in your power to help fix it.  We owe it to our teammates and our residents.

How should we proceed?

It all starts with a conversation with that individual.  Be a curious sponge and seek to understand the circumstance.  Keep asking "why" until you identify the root cause.

Is it transportation related?  Child care?  Is the employee exhausted from working too many shifts?  Are there other priorities that are competing with work?  Or, is the employee just terrible at managing their time?

Once you identify the root cause, begin to structure a plan.  Keep in mind Maslows Hierarchy of Needs.  Start at the bottom of the pyramid and uncover where the breakdown is.

Here's an example of a different scenario I heard about recently.  

An employee at a community found himself unexpectedly and tragically homeless.  It goes without saying that this significant situation would impact the employee's ability to show up and perform their job at a high level.  Before this scenario, the employee was a very high performer, often receiving employee of the month awards.

The team discovered the root cause, helped find the teammate temporary and eventually permanent housing, and even went as far as collecting and purchasing items to help furnish his new place.

By addressing the root cause head-on, they prevented a scenario that inevitably would have impacted the employee's performance and, ultimately, the organization's culture.

They turned an adverse scenario into a culture-building outcome.

For the scenario the NHA asked about, the employee's tardiness had been going on for some time, and other employees were already noticing.  It needed to be addressed.

Unfortunately, other team members won't know, and shouldn't know, what efforts you're making behind the scenes to correct the situation.  

Fair or not, you're racing against the clock.  The more time the behavior or outcome exists, the more it will be notified by others.

Put the employee first but know that ultimately you have to protect and promote a culture of accountability and fairness.  

Set a reasonable deadline, address the root cause to the best of your ability, but hold your line.

Disagree?  Let us know what you would do.

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Grab your coffee and make it a great day.  We appreciate you and your dedication to your team and residents. -Thank you!