Dear ReWorker,
We have a small business with only four employees. We need our employees to be on time because our clients come to us. If our staff doesn't arrive at the designated time, we often have clients waiting for them out in the parking lot.
We introduced a vacation policy for the first time, and employees can now earn paid time off by clocking in on time. Each pay period of timeliness gets them half a paid day, which means they can earn 12 paid days off each year, just by clocking in on time. But we heard someone say, 'Well, if I'm late once during a pay cycle, I won't earn paid time off , so why should I show up on time for the rest of the period?' I'm at a loss as to what to do next.
Sincerely,
Tired of Tardiness
___________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Tired of Tardiness,
You think you've been battling a tardiness problem, but what you're actually facing is a disbelief problem. Your employees don't believe that it is important to be on time, so they aren't. The carrot you handed out—the vacation—is just an indication that you are begging them to do the job they should do anyway. (Although, I think you should definitely be offering vacation.)
So, my advice? Make them believe you. How?
Sit down with each member of your existing team and say, "You need to be on time. We've tolerated late arrivals in the past, but that is changing. Starting next week, the new policy will be: a formal warning for the first lateness, a one day suspension without pay for the second lateness and if you're tardy a third time, your employment will be terminated. However, if you're on time for three months in a row, we'll erase one lateness from your file."
Then present the employee with two printed copies of the new policy, and ask them to sign both. Keep one for your files, and send the other one home with them.
They will not like this. Not one bit. Someone will likely test you out, and here's the critical part: You must follow through. You need to give them the unpaid suspension day, and you might need to fire an employee who pushes a third day, so start searching for new employees before you embark on this process. If you do not do this, your problem will continue because your employees won't believe you.
Now, I'm not normally this strict, but because your employees' behavior has a direct effect on clients, you need to make rectifying the issue a priority.
One more tip, though: When hiring new employees, consider the salary and benefits that you offer. Usually, a better salary and benefits package (like the vacation you started offering) will attract higher-caliber employees. If your current employees rise to the challenge, make sure you increase their salaries as well.
This will be painful for a while, but ultimately, you'll have a better staff, and your clients will appreciate it.
Your ReWorker,
Suzanne Lucas, Evil HR Lady
Photo: Creative Commons
Ressources similaires
Vous souhaitez continuer à apprendre ? Découvrez nos produits, les témoignages de nos clients et les actualités du secteur.
Témoignage de client
La planification et le partenariat simplifient la gestion des talents pour la marque de produits pour animaux de compagnie la plus populaire de Nouvelle-Zélande
Animates and Animates Vetcare, la marque de produits pour animaux de compagnie la plus populaire de Nouvelle-Zélande et l'entreprise leader dans ce domaine, est présente sur le marché depuis plus de 20 ans. Elle a développé ses activités et gère désormais 45 magasins, 28 salons de toilettage et près de 20 cliniques vétérinaires. Elle emploie plus de 900 personnes, dont des vétérinaires, des toiletteurs et des détaillants spécialisés à temps plein et à temps partiel. Animates continue de croître à un rythme soutenu, malgré les difficultés économiques, en aidant les propriétaires d'animaux de compagnie à faire ce qu'il y a de mieux pour leurs compagnons et leur porte-monnaie. Les ressources humaines de Animates, y compris le processus de recrutement et L&D, n'étaient pas en mesure de suivre le rythme de croissance de l'entreprise.
Billet de blog
Gestion des talents : comment les entreprises françaises abordent-elles 2024 ?
En 2023, les organisations ont affronté une conjoncture incertaine, une inflation galopante et une pénurie persistante de talents sur des profils stratégiques. Le tout sur fond d’accélération de la révolution technologique. Dans ce contexte, la gestion des talents a vécu une année sous forte pression, avec un enjeu central pour les organisations : se donner les moyens de la transformation en matière de compétences et de capital humain.