Last week I spoke with an office manager about a long term employee (4 years- yes, that’s long term now. . . ) who was “up for a raise.”

The manager opened the conversation by describing the employee’s recent outburst during a staff meeting where she stormed out of the office. The cause of the outburst; the practice recently moved to a larger space where the patient bathroom would need to be checked throughout the day, making sure it was stocked with paper towels, toilet paper, etc.

To quote the manager; “No one was asking her to clean the toilet.” 

At this point I couldn’t help but interrupt the story and ask “What do you mean she is up for a raise?”  To this the manager answered; “We are coming up on the anniversary of her hire.” I then inquired if working in the practice for another year automatically equated to a raise or if performance related requirements were considered.

Well yes, both, the manager answered. We do an annual performance review and then give a raise. She then went on to tell me that this employee performed her tasks as a medical assistant with accuracy and had a solid attendance record. She also provided a few more examples of insubordination and Jekyll and Hyde behavior that was negatively affecting the entire team.

Although my initial response was to let her go, after learning that the doctor and manager were both concerned about the legal ramifications of terminating this particular employee, here were my suggestions:  

Conduct a performance review, being very specific about the areas in which the employee excels as well as those in need of improvement while stressing that creating a positive atmosphere for fellow team members and patients is just as important as clinical care. In addition, require the employee to meet with the manager on a weekly basis to discuss “concerns” or to make “suggestions for improvement” to current clinic systems. Remind the employee of the appropriate channels for vocalizing concerns as per the employee handbook.
After a set period of time (30-45 days at most), schedule a meeting to discuss improvement (or lack thereof). If at that point no significant improvement has been made, no raise would be given and the employee would most likely leave the practice on her own.

Note for all employees: All negative incidents, including oral and written warnings should be documented and a non-disparagement agreement should be signed when an employee leaves on bad terms (examples of performance reviews, employee handbooks and a non-disparagement agreement are available in the PPA library). 

Long story short, another year should not automatically mean another raise!