Introduction

Many dermatologists consider employees themselves responsible for their poor performance.

Most common causes for poor employee performance that many dermatologists believe in are:

• Employees are not sincere
• Employees don’t care
• Employees are not serious about their work
• Employees don’t understand the importance of their work

In other words, employees are at the root of the problem.

It’s a puzzle for many dermatologists as to why employees don’t do what they are supposed to do. It’s an even bigger puzzle as to what dermatologists can do about it.

Let’s understand the problem in detail and then consider the solution as well.

The Problem

Many dermatologists think that their employees don’t put their heart and soul into their work.

They think that employees do it half-heartedly or do it for the sake of doing.

Have you ever wondered why?

Do you ever reflect upon why employees would do that?

Let’s say that they don’t care.

But the question is, why don’t they care?

This is where the problem lies.

The problem is that many dermatologists don’t explore the employee behavior in terms of why. If they do, they will find that employees are at times unaware of why they should do their job in with a special care.

Nobody seems to explain to the employees how their work is crucial to the success and growth of the clinic.

They are simply given a list of ‘tasks’ but without the clarity as to why.

For instance, if a dermatologist simply says that you should take patients’ feedback but does not explain why, the employees may take the feedback but quite half-heartedly.

If you say that front office desk is quite important and that the concerned employee should pick up the phone in two rings, but don’t explain why, the concerned employee will never understand the significance of his/her job. Hence, he/she will never be able to bring the intensity to his/her job that you expect.

This applies to most of the tasks that you give to your employees.

As long as you give tasks without explaining why, they will not understand how to go about it. They will not understand why they should go extra mile to do it well. They will not give their 100% to the given task, however small it may be.

Therefore, the problem hardly lies with employees. The problem lies in not explaining why they should do it.

Is it an impossible problem to solve?

Nope!

Here’s how you can prevent/solve this problem, and get your employees to perform at their peak:

The Solutions

1. Explain the Problem in Detail

Most employers rush to the scolding part or solution part without trying to discuss why the problem arose in the first place.

The reason why the problem arose is important because employees can prevent and solve the problems of similar nature in future.

Here’s what you can do to explain the problem:

• Talk to them every time there is a problem. Many dermatologists don’t consider it important to discuss the problem with their employees.

• Regular discussion and dialogue are quite important in creating a sense of comfort necessary to discuss and solve problems. This practice is, at times, missing in many clinics.

• Spend time with your employees and help them understand the shortcomings of a process and how to overcome the shortcomings.

• Tell them why patients behave in the way they do if that’s the problem. Explain to them why employees find it difficult to work together, if that’s the issue. In short, explain the problem in detail; don’t just rush to the solution part.

• The other reason why it’s important to discuss the problem is that they can prevent it in future. For instance, if there’s any communication gap, you need to discuss it with them and explain why it’s important to understand this problem.

• The reason why it’s important to understand and uproot the problem of communication gap is because it can cause many other problems in future. Whether in dealing with patients or dealing with their colleagues, employees must ensure that there’s no communication gap.
• If you make sure that you explain the problem and the root cause of a problem to them, they will be able to understand and improve.

• Once they understand, they will be able to solve the current problem and prevent future problems.

• In short, they will be able to perform well, if you explain the problem to them and discuss it in detail.

2. Explain the Solution in Detail

While some dermatologists may spend time talking about the problem, there are many who don’t discuss the solution.

The reason why it’s important to discuss and explain the solution in detail is because it helps them see how they should approach a problem and arrive at the right kind of solution.

Here’s how you should explain it:

• Have a little chat about the solution at ease. Don’t rush it. Take your time and discuss the solution.

• There are different ways to find a solution for a problem. For instance, there can be a lot of quick fixes.

• For instance, a patient is angry with the staff of front office desk. Now what is he/she supposed to do? The quick fix would mean taking care of that patient and then forget about it.

• However, a solution means that you improve the process in such a way that takes care of all such patients in future.

• Discuss with the employees how they can improve the process and make sure that they don’t just solve immediate problems but also prevent the ones which can arise in future.
• The key here lies in explaining how they should think about the problem, how they should approach a solution and how they should think of a preventive solution for future problems.

• You should explain why you are in favour of a particular kind of solution so that they understand what kind of solutions they are expected to find.

3. Explain the Goals in Detail

Many dermatologists give tasks and not the goals. They think that employees don’t need to understand and know everything.

Such employers are later proven wrong when their employees fall short of performing well.

It’s not necessary but vital to explain the goals in detail because they cannot achieve the goals if they don’t understand them!

Here’s how you can go about it:

• Make sure that you provide sufficient clarity regarding what your employees are expected to achieve. In other words, explain the goals in detail.

• For instance, give a goal like ‘you need to achieve higher patient satisfaction’ rather than saying ‘I don’t want any complaints from the patients’. A goal is a positive statement of an objective to be achieved. It is something that takes you further ahead on the path of collective progress.

• So make sure that you define and articulate goals clearly. Do you ever explain goals to your employees? Do you ever tell them individually what they are supposed to achieve? Do you ever explain what they are expected to achieve as a team?

• Use team meetings to explain goals to them. Set clear goals and expectations. Tell them what you want to see as an end result rather than trying to scold or punish them.

• Use one-on-one discussions to reach out to the individual employees at a personal level to bring the best out of them. Explain their individual goals to them so that they know what they are expected to achieve at individual level also.

• Make sure you address them on events and occasions and tell them what their collective goals are. Tell them what their goal is regarding the growth of the clinic and set clear timeline to the goal. You can say, “We want to go to triple digit in terms of number of patients by 2020”.

• Once you set such a goal, everyone understands that they have to do something extraordinary to achieve that goal.

• Setting clear expectations is the foundation of great achievements and great employee performance. If you don’t set clear goals and expectations, you cannot expect them to achieve those goals and perform optimally.

• Therefore, explain goals to them in detail and get them to be more productive and effective!

Conclusion

Many dermatologists assign work and then let their employees figure it out why they are supposed to do it and in which way.

There are different ways to approach a problem and a solution. As long as you don’t explain why they should approach a problem or a solution in a particular way, they will not be able to do it.

In fact, they will not be able to do anything well unless you explain every “why” that is associated with it.

So explain why they are supposed to do what they are supposed to do and get them to perform at their best!

Parting Note

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Infographics – Why Employees Don’t Do What They are Supposed to Do and What to Do about it