How Can I Address My Front Office Staff's Excessive Personal Calls at Work?

Dear all, I am a practicing dentist and I employ two front office staff. Lately, I have observed that they are spending too much time making personal calls on their cell phones, which is disturbing the clinic.

Handling Personal Calls in the Workplace

How should I handle the situation? Any input would be greatly appreciated, and many thanks in advance for the same.

Regards,
Veerendra Darakh

Dear Veerendra,

Your business is not exceptional; this is a common problem in the industry. You can ask your staff to deposit their personal cell phones with you during working hours. During this period, they will use landline phones for important calls only. In case of emergencies, their family members can call them on your office landline numbers. After all, the workplace is for work, not chatting. In the past, when there were no cell phones, people used to work and face emergency situations.

You should make this clear at the time of the staff's appointment itself. I hope this is the best solution available at this juncture.

Regards,

Addressing Employee Phone Usage in the Office

First, have you made your displeasure known to your employees? If not, you need to do so.

Initially, it may take the form of light comments in context, such as: "How much time do you spend on the phone? This is the office." The second time, you can tell them: "Get off the phone, please. There is work to be done."

If the message does not percolate down, then you need to call them in and tell them explicitly that mobiles are not to be used during office hours, either for personal calls or for chatting on social media. Also, inform them that you will start taking stricter measures, such as confiscating phones or requiring them to be handed over during office hours.

Dear Dr. Veerendra,

Progressive Steps to Address Employee Cell Phone Usage

In such matters, it is advisable to follow a progressive ladder of action steps:

1. **Advise:** Engage in a polite discussion, explaining that it is unprofessional to use office time for personal usage and its detrimental impact on office discipline. If they continue with the same behavior, proceed to the next step.

2. **Stern Warning:** Conduct a formal discussion, state observations, and mention the consequences of repeated indiscipline. Consider what would fall under strict action—this could include suspension without salary for up to four days, enforcement of a no-cell phone policy, or, in extreme situations, termination with notice pay as per the terms of the employment contract. If this does not improve conduct, proceed to step 3.

3. **Strict Action:** This should be implemented after proper documentation and ensuring that you have displayed enough fairness and guidance.

Trust this helps.

Regards,
Rajesh

1. Warn both employees not to spend time on cell phones as part of discipline and also inform them that it is a nuisance to clients, hence cannot be tolerated.

2. If they continue with their old practice, terminate the one who is causing more trouble and hire a new employee, providing a full understanding of your disciplinary norms. Offer the job to whoever agrees.

3. Ensure the new employee follows the disciplinary norms of not talking excessively on mobile phones. Also, assess if the second old employee has improved; if not, it will be their turn for exit.

4. Employees may be spending more time on cell phones due to a lack of workload. Evaluate if you truly need both employees or if one can manage the tasks.

Regards,
Satish Akut

Thank you, everybody, for the insights. I have benefited from the same. As I look at things, the problem is multifactorial, and the lack of a work culture is one of them. In these times when corruption, bad "Sanskaras," and insincerity are a way of life, these problems are bound to arise.

Just a few months back, I hired two part-time receptionists. Within a week, I realized that these girls were not only misusing the internet by visiting their Facebook pages but also viewing obscene images online. I had to let both of them go.

The good thing is that many times, with a little bit of frank, purposeful conversation, these problems become less, although they may not go away completely. Thanks once again for all the inputs.

Regards,
Veerendra Darakh