Start by asking the employee how many of her calls she can make on the breaks that have been provided for that purpose. Next, have the employee make a list of all the personal phone calls she will need to make in a week. One by one, ask how long each of those phone calls will take. Add up that time. Divide that time by the five workdays. In other words, if 75 minutes of phone time is needed, give the employee a budget of 15 minutes a day for personal calls. For entry-level employees, offer an electronic timer that they can use to time their calls. This is not appropriate for higher-level employees. Enter into an agreement with the employee that she will not exceed this budget.

Revisit this topic with the employee in a week or two. Have things improved? Continue to monitor this behavior on an informal basis, since relapses are common.

• Set a definite time for personal calls. Again, ask the employee to
list all the personal calls he must make each week. In this intervention, a specific time is scheduled for each personal call. Does
the employee need to check in on children every day? Ask the employee what the best time for that call would be. Then ask for
a commitment that he will make that call at that time—3:15 P.M., for example—every day. Also, agree on how long this call should last. If you come by at 3:45 P.M. and the call is still going on, another discussion should take place about the use of the employee’s time. This system sets boundaries for an employee who apparently has none.

Does the employee say that her children are calling her and that she is powerless to stop them? Give her the one check-in call home, but ask her to subtract the extra time for the additional calls from her break time. You will probably see discipline step up dramatically in that household.

• Today’s phone systems offer wonderful tracking tools. Use them.
Consider (with your HR rep’s approval) getting a printout of all your employee’s incoming and outgoing calls—if you own the phone service he is using and are not violating his rights in any way. Although you must be sure that you are on solid legal footing with this one, documentation can be very effective. Show the employee the number of calls and the duration. Most people will get the point.

Circling all the calls the employee has made to a frequently dialed number can reveal to the employee the huge amount of lost time involved. Adding up all those minutes for the week, multiplying them by the employee’s salary plus benefits, and then annualizing that number can produce some impressive dollar amounts. Then ask the employee to shift those calls to after work, or at least limit their number and duration.

Taken From: 201 Ways to Turn Any Employee Into a STAR Performer