More tips on ‘cleaning house’
By Bob Levoy

The most unpleasant task of practice management is the need to fire an employee. Most chiropractors detest the job.

The first thing to remember is there’s no way to make a dismissal pleasant. You can only minimize the pain and hostility.

In the June 19 issue of this magazine, I listed five action steps for the “moment of truth.” Here are some additional recommendations:

• Don’t say ‘attitude.’ “Managers should avoid the word ‘attitude’ when speaking with an employee,” says Paul Falcone, director of employment and development for Paramount Pictures in Hollywood, Calif., in The Hiring and Firing Question and Answer Book (AMACOM, 2002)

“It’s simply too subjective a word and typically escalates disagreement by fostering feelings of resentment and anger. As a matter of fact,” he adds, “courts have interpreted ‘attitude problems’ as mere differences of opinion or personality conflicts. It is therefore critical that you avoid that specific term in any of your documentation.

“Only behaviors and actions that can be observed and documented may be presented as evidence in court.”

• Inform your employees. Tell other employees of your decision, indicating in simple terms the reasons for it and ask for their support until you find a replacement. Staff members may be more aware than you of the shortcomings of the former employee and actually applaud your decision.

• Keep partings amicable. It’s important to remember that departing employees are also “ambassadors” for your practice — whether you wish them to be or not. Even if they encountered several months of rough-going before leaving, if the parting was amicable, they will be more inclined to speak favorably about the practice.

“A disgruntled employee can do more damage to you and your practice than employees in other fields can do to their employers,” says Dr. Michael Metzger of Dallas, in a July 2002 an article in Podiatry Today. “They could call Medicare with a complaint that you’re over-billing or under-billing, or they could file an OSHA complaint. They could call a disgruntled patient and make problems for you there too. You have a liability in the medical profession that you don’t have in other situations.”

• Document. To avoid lawsuits claiming a wrongful dismissal, document everything as it occurs. When a problem is severe enough to require a warning, put it in writing, date it, and have the employee sign it. If it becomes necessary, this paper trail will provide a sound basis for a subsequent firing decision.

• Don’t procrastinate. “There are three main ways that managers get firing wrong,” say Jack Welch former CEO of General Electric and Suzy Welch, co-authors of Winning (HarperBusiness, 2005).

These are: moving too fast (without giving the employee adequate warning), lack of candor (about the person’s shortcomings during one-on-one meetings), and taking too long.

“It’s not the people you fire who make your life miserable,” says Harvey McKay, author of Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive, “It’s those you don’t.”

From the success files: Following a recent seminar, a doctor wrote me: “When I returned to my office, I fired our bookkeeper of 13 years. It was the most painful thing I’ve ever done. It was also the best thing. It was hard to recognize the negative impact she had on the practice until she left.”

Resource: Rightful Termination: Defensive Strategies for Hiring and Firing in the Lawsuit-Happy ’90s by James Walsh (Merritt Publishing, Los Angeles, 1997). Among other important issues, this book covers job applicant testing, at-will employment, civil rights claims, wrongful termination claims, and termination methods.

Bob Levoy is a seminar speaker and writer who focuses on the healthcare industry. His most recent book is 201 Secrets of a High Performance Dental Practice Elsevier/Mosby (January, 2005). He can be reached by e-mail at b.levoy@att.net