Self Help

As a leader of your work organization, if you must deal with a tardiness problem, begin with your policy and a review of compliance. Below are three approaches you can take to your tardiness policy and how you approach your employees:

1. Be consistent. If others arrive late to work and are excused or overlooked, the rule has only limited value. Where this is the case, we suggest you inform all employees they are to be not only present, but ready to work, at the given start time.
2. If hours of work and exact duties are being confused by the employee, then put him or her on clear notice as to their responsibilities. Define the problem.
3. If the employee still isn’t dependable after this initial confrontation, document each occasion you notice and write disciplinary letters advising that continued tardiness may eventually result in termination. The idea is to break a bad habit or allow the employee to find more flexible

After some debate, most experts agree that tardiness is a life-long habitual problem and if the employee is late for work, he’s probably late picking up the kids, going out to dinner, and going to the dentist. There’s not much likelihood that you will be able to convince him to change his habits immediately.