Getting to work on time can be tough sometimes. Everyone’s gotten stuck in traffic or hit the snooze button one too many times. But what do you do with an employee who’s chronically late?
Address the issue, says Liz Carey of Leadership Connections, LLC, a leadership development and coaching firm in New York City. Find out what’s causing his or her tardiness. “There may be something outside of work causing the problem, such as an illness or childcare issues,” says Eugene Buccini of Buccini Associates, an organizational and leadership development company in Ossining. If there is a personal issue, try to change your employee’s schedule for a short, specified period of time for the employee to make any necessary changes. Get his or her commitment to be on time after the set period of time and be clear about the consequences if the employee continues to be late, says Carey. “If it continues, the employee should be progressively disciplined,” says Buccini. Otherwise… “When other employees see a person constantly coming in late and nothing is done about it, it causes resentment and sometimes similar behavior,” Buccini warns.