BizQuiz: Do you know the right way to fire?

Susan, your technician, has been late several times in the past few months. She's been rude to three or four clients. And to top it all off, she left last night without getting all of her work done. So now the surgical packs aren't ready and surgery will be delayed-which of course means no lunch for everyone and probably a very, very long day.

Employees lose respect for a practice owner or manager who allows an employee to behave in this manner without any repercussions. And in the end, it hurts the practice more to retain this problem employee than it would to let her go.

You're the boss. Are you prepared to handle this situation? To find out, answer the following questions about the employee termination policy recommended by Mark Opperman, CVPM.

1). Do you have written, up-to-date job descriptions for all of your team members?

A. Yes

B. No

2). What's the best way to share your discipline policy with team members?

A. Include in the employee manual

B. Explain to team members when they start

C. Ask team members' immediate supervisors to explain

3). When do you need a witness when issuing reprimands and terminating employees?

A. Only when you issue an oral reprimand to an employee

B. Only when you issue a written reprimand to an employee

C. Only when you terminate an employee, but not for reprimands

D. Whenever you terminate-or issue a reprimand to-an employee

4). What is a minimum number of warnings you should give before terminating an employee for nonserious offenses?

A. 1

B. 2

C. 30

5). How does failing to fire a poorly performing employee hurt your practice?

A. Employees resent working with incompetent or unkind coworkers and will look elsewhere for a job

B. Another employee in the same position could do a better job

C. Employees ignore practice policies because there are no consequences for failing to follow them

D. All of the above

6). When terminating an employee, should you address all your and the employee's grievances to get them out in the open and find some closure?

A. No

B. Yes