If They Don’t Make the Cut, Know When to Make the Call

Have you ever had an employee that seemed promising, but his or her performance didn’t wow you? Or maybe an employee excelled in a previous role with the company, but is struggling in a new role? Do you have an employee whose negativity is toxic for your organization? Do you base decisions about whether to keep or replace an employee on emotion or on what is best for your practice? Hesitation instead of addressing a problem with an employee will cost you. It may cost you other great employees, clients, patients, or referral sources, or could jeopardize your reputation as a leader. Tolerating bad employees is a virus in your organization that will infect the whole company. In my experience, a delay in replacing negative employees is usually because of emotional influences on decision-making or reluctance to face a daunting hiring process. Whether the employee struggling to meet expectations is a new employee or a tenured employee, clearly communicating expectations is a must. Ensuring all employees understand what is expected of them regarding performance, productivity, and behavior paves the road for future conversations about these skills and removes the emotional influence on your decision-making. Not all hires turn out to be excellent employees and not all employees are in the right roles. Be sure not to ignore red flags for new or tenured employees. A negative employee will have a harmful impact on the organization and other employees. Think about the adage “One bad apple can spoil the bunch.” Disgruntled employees who speak and act in subversive ways will eventually influence their coworkers. This becomes evident when an employee creates poor relationships with other employees, referral sources, patients, or payers. An employee is a poor match with the organization or position when the employee is not able to meet the company’s expectations for the role. If the role includes greeting patients and answering phones but the employee doesn’t like to be on the phone or talk to people, he or she is not the right person for the position. Poor productivity is also a problem. The employee is clear about what is expected of him or her and has had proper training but continuously fails to meet performance expectations. Not addressing an employee who is having a negative impact on your organization says a great deal about your management team and company culture. You are allowing this employee to redefine your standards, and you convey this message to the rest of your organization and other people the employee interacts with on your behalf. After identifying a performance, productivity, or behavioral issue with an employee, communicate the problem to the individual, clearly including the expectations that are not being met. You can work with the employee on an improvement program, which may include additional training, refocusing on specific tasks, or addressing time-management strategies. Throughout the improvement program you will be assessing the employee and providing consistent feedback. Upon completion of the program, it will be clear if this is the right person for the role or whether he or she needs to be replaced. This path helps take the emotional influence out of your decision-making because you are focusing on the skill sets and performance benchmarks required for success. Too often we say in hindsight that we should have replaced an employee weeks or even months earlier. A Tony Robbins quote we use often at CBS puts this into perspective: “We get what we tolerate.” Clearly defining the expectations for each role and holding your employees accountable creates an environment of high producers and trust within your organization. Erin Cammarata is president and owner of CBS Medical Billing and Consulting. She can be contacted at erin@cbsmedicalbilling.com.

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