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STAFFING
know what happened until later in the day, when the team is sniping at each other. Once you're made aware of the situation, act at once.
If you didn't directly witness what occurred, bring the nurse into your office and ask her to explain why she was late. The excuse may be valid, but she was late nevertheless. Explain why this was a problem for her co-workers. Write up the incident, and explain that it is unacceptable and can't happen again. Ask the nurse to verbalize her understanding of the discussion.
Remember that all reprimands are confidential. You don't owe other employees any explanations about what you have done or said. If they ask about interventions, tell them that you would keep any discussions with them private and confidential, as you're sure they would want.
What if you don't intervene immediately? Other staff members see the problem employee as getting away with the behavior and begin to wonder why they should be on time when you don't care enough to enforce your policies.
The problem behavior may have a ripple effect as other employees begin to test your limits. Staff members who do play by the rules watch peers get away with misbehaving over and over again. That negatively impacts the morale of your entire staff and causes rifts in the ranks. Worse, problem behavior soon becomes the norm, and unless you intervene, you're indirectly telling the rest of the staff that you condone the behavior, which makes it much harder to put your foot down and reinforce the discipline you should have established long before things spiraled out of control.
2. Fire when ready
The nurse is late again, with no excuse. Call her into your
office right away and have the same discussion. This time, explain
