STAFF - Key PEOPLE Principle #3 – The Wrong Person

In Key PEOPLE Principle #1, we discovered that:

Successful practices with great teams hire and retain “good heads” & “good hearts”, not necessarily just “good hands”.  And that great leaders recognize that hiring the right TYPE of person is more important than getting the best SKILLED person.  

In Key PEOPLE Principle #2, we're reminded that:

Successful practices with great teams don’t hire people and then figure out how to motivate them; they choose self-motivated people who share their core values and train them to become a productive member of their team.  Because we can't motivate anyone.  We need staff who, by their very nature, are self-motivated.

But what happens if we neglect to dismiss someone who doesn't belong on our team?  Then we’re doomed to live with staff problems that never go away.

Personally, I had to learn this the hard way.  Because even though I've never regretted firing someone, I've ALWAYS regretted NOT firing someone.

So, why is firing someone so hard to do?

As far as I can tell, there were three things that held me back in the past from doing what needed to be done and dismiss the “wrong person”.  (The names have been changed to protect the guilty)

Reason #1 - Avoiding a Confrontation with a “disruptive” assistant.

Olivia was a bully and constantly causing hurt feelings among the rest of the staff.

For a long time, I tolerated or ignored the issue, hoping it would get better, unwilling to confront her and asking anyone upset with each other to work it out.  Truthfully, I just didn’t want to deal with it.  She was great with the patients and parents, fast clinically, but nasty to others behind my back while always playing innocent with me.

I felt we needed her during a busy time in my practice and kept downplaying how disruptive she was.  Finally, I decided I was being a coward.  The thought that eventually changed my mind was that I needed to take care of the “good ones” on my staff and not allow her to intimidate them anymore. If I didn't,  they may quit to escape her harassment.

So, I had to be willing to overcome my discomfort with confronting her to have the cohesive team I wanted. Through a series of “formal discussions” about her behavior, she persisted and was eventually let go.

Reason #2 - Self-doubt about dismissing a “borderline” assistant.

It’s hard to know, where to draw the line.  How bad is bad enough?  How do I deal with those borderline cases in which they’re not an “eagle”, but they’re also not completely a “duck”?

Emma was one such person.  Sweet, but a mediocre clinical assistant who never seemed to get any better.  She frustrated the rest of the staff with her slowness not only chairside, but also failing to help them out with the non-clinical duties.  She just wasn’t carrying her weight.

In this case, I was plagued by thoughts of “Have I done enough?  Have I given her the chance she deserves?  Maybe she’ll eventually improve.”  I was also over identifying with how she might feel if I let her go.  (Side note: If we ever feel bad about the need to terminate someone, it only shows that we are human and compassionate, not cruel and heartless.)

These borderline cases are tough to decide.  Obviously, they have some good qualities. We wouldn't have hired them in the first place if they didn't!

I finally had to come to the realization that all such decisions will always be in the gray area.  Instead, I had to ask myself, “Can I have the team I want with this person still on it?”  “Would I hire her now, knowing what I now know?”  Probably not. 

So, I used our staff review process to identify her issues, set clear improvement targets and have a deadline for those targets being reached.  The staff evaluations which we had every four months ultimately made it possible to document her lack of improvement.

So, I had to be willing to set high standards and enforce them to have the productive team I wanted.

Reason #3 - Avoid upsetting the staff if I dismissed an “incompetent”, but likable assistant.

Betty was the older woman I inherited when I took over one of my practices.

This kind of thing happens often.  You buy a practice with an older staff who has been marginal with the senior doc.  Barely competent, sometimes highly paid, they often don’t fit in well with a young energetic practice wanting to move forward.  Changes are resisted and “that’s not how we used to do it” becomes a common refrain.

Betty clearly didn’t belong in an my office.  At least not the one I wanted to create.  I kept her on the staff initially because I didn’t want to upset the patients or staff as I transitioned.  (Usually a good idea).  I tried training her, but that failed.  Then I reassigned her where she could would have less impact, moving her from the chair to the lab (still marginal) and ultimately to sterilization.

Frankly, I didn’t handle this situation well.  In my previous practice with a larger staff, I was more disciplined about dismissing someone who didn’t measure up.  But with this smaller staff, I falsely believed that it would upset her coworkers.  Ultimately, we let her go as I sold the practice.  (I couldn’t do to the new doctor what was done to me.)

And guess what?   I was wrong.  No one was bothered by the change.

Usually the remaining staff want us to have the courage to accept only the best.  They often wonder why it takes us so long to “pull the trigger”. Our best employees need us to set high standards of behavior AND performance.

So, I had to be willing to insist that everyone measure up as a good teammate AND a good worker to have the team I wanted.

These experiences helped me realize that my decisions had to be guided by Key “People” Principle #3 which is:

Successful practices with great teams are willing to dismiss any person

who interferes with their ability to become an exceptional practice.

Conclusion

I hope these examples help with the decision whether to dismiss someone or not.  I'm not saying that we should fire anyone tomorrow. We should do it properly and respectfully, but resolve to do it in the next 6 months or so.

Tell them what you want, give them a fair chance improve, but don't relent when they guilt you, blame you or get others on their side.  It’s the ONLY way to have the team you want.

Remember, it’s not the people you fire who make your life miserable; it’s the ones that you don’t!