“I would rather have an employee steal from me than to stink.” This comment, expressed by a seminar attendee, created a bit of embarrassed laugher and several nodding heads from other audience members of a group talking about employee challenges. “I know how to deal with a thief. I am very uncomfortable telling an employee that they have an offensive body odor or bad breath.”

Modern American society has an interesting way of dealing with problems in the workplace. The ostrich management method, stick your head in the sand and ignore it, does not work when the offensive employee is a field service tech. Customers are able to avoid a personal interaction with the offensive person by calling the service manager or dispatcher on the phone demanding, “Never send that smelly tech to my office again. His body odor made two of my employees sick.”

When this type of call comes into the office, rarely does the comment come as a surprise. Most people in the office are already aware of the field tech’s personal hygiene problems. In most cases, management and fellow workers somehow hoped that no one else would notice the problem.

The social stigma attached to personal body odor extends to male and female, young and old, thin and fat, and multiple ethnic backgrounds. Through my years of presenting seminars and consulting, I have heard a wide variety of complaints, excuses and embarrassments.

• The heavy smoker who smells like an ashtray.

• The person who wears too much perfume or cologne.

• The after lunch bad breath of garlic or onions.

• The person whose body expels exotic seasonings.

• The person who does not use an underarm antiperspirant / deodorant.

• The person who wears unclean clothes.

• Foot odor, with or without socks.

• Dirty, greasy, smelly hair.

• The person who does not seem to bathe on a regular basis.

• Someone who sweats profusely.

You get the idea. You probably have a few other personal hygiene stories you have encountered to add to this list. I won’t belabor the problem any more. Let’s turn to a solution.
The best way to deal with any of these problems is during the job interview, before a person is hired. Make sure there are no offensive situations that are obvious in the interview. It is legal to ask a person if they smoke. It is also legal to ask them if they have ever smoked. If they answer yes, I follow-up by asking “When did you stop smoking?” This is especially important if someone has a smoker’s odor about them.

I have often been told, “I stopped last week” or even “this morning”. It is hard to consider a person who allegedly stopped smoking this morning to be a non-smoker. I have made a conscious decision not to hire smokers. That does not mean I won’t hire a smoker, nor that I haven’t been fooled a time or two.

From a dollars and cents point of view, a field tech or dispatcher who smokes will have a greater likelihood of being away from their work station than a non-smoker will have. In times of stress, the former will need to take a smoke break, or work under greater anxiety as their bodies crave nicotine.

Smokers often pal around with other smokers. This creates a buddy system of multiple people being away from their desks at the same time or several techs standing around in the parking lot, talking and smoking. Smokers multiply wasted time. They often feel they have the right to take more than one 10 minute break each morning and afternoon.

During the interview, I will question the potential employee about how they prefer to be managed. “I am going to ask you a few hypothetical questions about problems that sometimes arise in the workplace. I want you to discuss how you would handle the problem if you were the manager. I also want you to explain how you personally would like to be approached and counseled if you were having one of these problems”

• Cheating on your expense report.

• Personal use of the company cell phone while in a customer’s office.

• Viewing pornography during the workday.

• Unacceptable personal hygiene

• Personal use of the Internet.

• Excessive body odor, causing complaints from customers and fellow employees.

• Wearing dirty, stained, wrinkled, untidy or clothes with holes in them to work.

• Turning in unreadable service orders or other reports.

• Use of inappropriate language at any time during the workday.

• Making sexually inappropriate remarks to a customer or fellow worker.

• Bad breath, unclean teeth.

It may be a bit excessive to ask each one of these questions. By asking a few, you will get a feel for what specific actions will be acceptable and appropriate if an uncomfortable situation needs to be addressed with this person. Make sure to take accurate notes on how the interviewee answers these questions. If the person is hired, keep all your notes in the employee’s file for future reference.

When the time comes that you personally have to deal with the offending situation, you can start the conversation by saying. “Remember during your pre-hiring interview we talked about how you would like to be dealt with if a personal hygiene situation ever came up. Well, the time has come for me to take your advice.”

This is one way to start an uncomfortable conversation. You are following the employee’s stated protocol. You are showing respect to their stated preferences of how they wanted to be treated while dealing with this situation. This may not be the perfect solution, but it is much better that just ignoring the problem and hoping it will go away.

For those employees that are already working with you, group or one-on-one discussions about how touchy situations should be handled create an appropriate comfort level for an uncomfortable situation. The ultimate goal is to actively take control of the situation. The need for acceptable personal hygiene is essential for all employees. It is management’s responsibility to address the situation before it becomes a problem to your customers.

Ronelle Ingram, author of Service With A Smile, also teaches service seminars. She can be reached at ronellei@msn.com  or visit her website www.ronelleingram.com