The phone starts ringing at eight in the morning every day. When someone arrives 15 minutes too late, that is 3 missed calls, and if more than one arrives late, we have a problem. As long as I have worked anywhere, there have always been people arriving late, why? I have punctuality as a high value in my life, I am always early to meetings and I have, with few exceptions, always arrived early at work.

When positivity goes wrong.
As a leader I like to try out the stuff I read, and other tips to improve at work. One thing I try over and over again is to get them to work in the morning. I prefer to motivate instead of using threats. I have a policy that says 3 times too late a week results in a written warning, 3 written warnings equals “you’re fired”. This is a negative focus, and I keep searching for a positive way to get them to work in time.

I had one great idea, I thought. I wrote all the names on a white board, and as soon as you arrived late, you had to come into my office and erase your own name. The winner would be the last one standing. I had set up odds in my head, and if I put money on it, I would win. Those who arrive late normally, kept on going, and were the first to erase their names. The white board is still up, with ten names on it. These people are the core, which never arrives late. They also have punctuality as a high value. The competition does not work anymore. The last one being erased was one that quit the company; and all of a sudden it is a “who works here the longest” competition. Well, at least I know who I can trust, when it comes to time.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
- Thomas Edison.
At least the white board is one way it won’t work. I want to find a positive way to get people to work in time. Out incredible invoice crew is almost always on time. If someone is late they have to sing for the rest of us, it seems to work for them. But if I did that on my gang, they rather call in sick, and then being forced to sing, or even quit.

What have others done? Please leave a comment if you have found something that works.