Got a Grumpy Gus? What to Do if Your Practice’s Employee Has a Bad Attitude

Customer service is a vital part of any business, but it holds even more value at a medical practice. Patients need to have a high degree of trust in your practice to keep coming back and to feel comfortable, and any negative experience can damage that trust. Our medical office consultants at McCauley Marketing Services have seen this one issue put practices under financial strain time and time again.

For that reason, if you have an employee with a negative attitude, you can’t let it slide. Most practice managers know this, but they aren’t sure what to do about it. These tips can help you have those uncomfortable conversations in a productive way.

Start Before There’s a Problem

The best way to stop an employee’s negative attitude from hurting your business is to prevent it from starting in the first place. Make it clear from the beginning that a warm and friendly personality is part of the job description. Explain it in your job postings and your interviews as you search for candidates, as well as your on-boarding materials like employee guidelines and training manuals. When you conduct performance reviews, include attitude as part of the discussion.

Keep it Private

Before we give you tips on how to have a conversation with your employee, you need to know when those conversations are appropriate. Above all, never confront or criticize your employee in front of patients, co-workers, or anyone else. The employee will be embarrassed and will react defensively rather than being receptive to your feedback. It will also damage their respect for you, making it more difficult for you to lead them in the future. On top of all this, it will hurt the way your other employees and your patients feel about you, which hurts your medical practice’s reputation. Only speak to your employee about their attitude or job performance in a private, respectful environment.

When you have these discussions, always document them for your records. Note when the conversation happened, who was present, what you talked about, and what the resolution was. Both you and your employee may want to refer back to these notes later.

Have Specific Examples

This is a good rule for any time you need to give an employee feedback: have specific examples. If you simply say, “You have a bad attitude at work,” your employee may not know what exactly they need to correct. It also makes it easy for them to deny that there is an issue. Come to them with precise examples of times when they’ve said the wrong thing or handled a situation poorly. This allows you to talk through what they should have done differently. At the same time, make sure they know that this isn’t a one-time issue, it’s a pattern you’ve noticed and you want to help them change it.

After you’ve explained the issues, offer clear and practical suggestions about what your employee should do differently. Tell them things like, “It would have been better to say something like _____,” or, “Next time, tell the patient that _____.”

Explain the Importance

It’s easy to dismiss an employee with a poor attitude as a negative, unhappy person. In truth, there are always reasons. As our medical office consultants have found, often employees have a poor attitude because they don’t have pride in the job they do. Speak to them about how important they are to the practice’s success and to helping patients feel comfortable. Not only does this tell them why they need to offer their service with a smile, but it can help them feel proud of the work they’re doing so those smiles are easier to come by.

Be Receptive, But Not Passive

Chances are that when you speak to your employee about their attitude, they’ll come back with reasons or excuses. Maybe they have problems and stressors at home or they aren’t feeling well. Be understanding and sympathetic to their struggles. At the same time, tell them that you know they’re strong enough to do their job well in spite of everything else, and that the practice’s patients deserve a positive experience regardless. Remind them that business and personal matters should remain separate. Just as it’s important for you to respect their personal time by not calling them about work during their time off, explain that they can do the same by focusing on work while they’re at work.

Explain the Upside

When an employee has a cheerful attitude, it doesn’t just help you. It helps them as well. If they approach a patient with positivity, the patient will be more positive in response. No one wants to deal with an unhappy patient, and those incidences will happen far less often if your employee is friendly from the start. On top of that, an employee with a smile is always seen as a better contender for promotions, awards, and raises. Explain all this to your employee to let them know that putting on a smile and a positive attitude is in their best interest in the short term and long term alike.

Taking Control of Your Staff

You wouldn’t hire someone if you didn’t think they were the best person to represent your practice. Your standards shouldn’t be lower for the employees you already have. The tips above can help you turn around your employees who aren’t living up to their potential. If your practice has problems beyond a single unhappy employee, it may be time for a medical office consultant to take a look from the outside and help you create a plan to make your practice more successful. To get started, call McCauley Marketing Services to set up a meeting. For more tips on running your practice, follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well.