Stains can be such a nuisance. No matter how careful I am, it seems like I always end up with one or two on my clothes, the tablecloth, or the carpet. The lesson that I’ve come to learn is that stains are way easier to get out if you clean them up as soon as possible. Letting them sit is only going to make the work harder in the future
If I spill wine on the carpet, I can ignore it and clean it up later, but if I decide to clean it right away, the outcome will be better and there will be fewer residual effects from the spill. In pediatric practices, many types of “spills” happen every day. Maybe a patient interaction was mishandled or there was a complaint about a particular employee. Over and over again I’ve seen the benefits on handling these kinds of issues in a timely manner. By addressing them more promptly, you reduce the risk of residual effects. By letting the incident pass, the “spill” will set and have the potential to create long lasting impacts in your organization. Prompt handling of these situations will keep the situation from dragging out and becoming a future issue.
The sooner you clean up the spill, the more likely that the incident will be forgotten with no reminder that it happened. From a management perspective, employees must understand what the organization views as right and wrong. Acting swiftly and decisively keeps employees from misunderstanding or being unclear as to what’s expected of them.
Next time you see a spill happen in the office, don’t wait – clean it up! Keep your organization stain-free and on the path to success.