Practice Management Alert

Question: We have two employees who work the front desk, checking in patients, collecting insurance information, scheduling visits, and much more. They are both very friendly with patients and efficient and effective in their roles. The trouble is that they can’t seem to agree on anything and are always arguing over the best process for things. What can I do to resolve this so that we don’t end up losing one, or both, of these employees?

New Jersey Subscriber

Answer: As a supervisor, part of your role is to play mediator between quarreling teammates. While it’s easy to choose sides and assume one party is in the wrong, you’re supposed to be diplomatic and take both sides into account.

One thing that might help is knowing that many conflicts arise because each individual wants to come out the winner. However, this mindset won’t help solve problems, author Stewart Levine explains. He offers the following advice for resolving conflicts in a way that will satisfy both parties involved, which you can bring to your feuding employees:

• Compromise, don’t compete. Instead of trying to impress your will upon your teammate, discuss the issue with him with an eye to finding a solution that you both will be happy with.
• Try to understand the other person’s point of view. Ask your teammate questions to find out where he stands on the problem and why.
• Agree to work together. After you establish common ground with your teammate, acknowledge that you both want to find a solution and that you should work together to do so. Explain to your employees that as effective members of a team, they need to be concerned more with the team’s goals than their own. Express to them that it’s okay to have an individual point of view and a different way of looking at something, as long as it doesn’t hinder performance.