Last week I came across some correspondence between a junior HR Manager and a medical Consultant. What struck me was the informality of the correspondence. But “informality” does really describe it…it was more boarding on inappropriate and disrespectful.
It took me a while to work out why my gut feelings were telling me that there was something wrong with this correspondence. And then I realised what it was: The HR Manager referred to the Doctor and his colleagues by their first names through-out the email exchange, even though they were discussing a serious matter.
Whilst this may not appear to be inappropriate or disrespectful during most email exchanges, in the NHS there is an unwritten ettiquette in how you converse with a Consultant.
Firstly, you make sure that you get the title right. Never call a Mr a Dr and vice versa. There’s a simple rule to follow: Surgeons and O&G consultants (Obstetric and Gynaecology) are Mr. The rest are Drs.
Secondly, never refer to the Doctor by their first name at the start of a conversation. Even if they call you and say “Hi, this is Bob”. You respond “Hello Dr Leonard”.
Out of curiosity, I spoke with the HR Manager in question and asked him why he was so informal. He replied that he believed that he was as equal as the consultant and therefore all communication should on first name terms.
Whether we like it or not, there is a hierarchy in the NHS. And the Doctors are higher up in that hierarchy than an HR professional. And there are many reasons for this, but the two main ones are as follows:
a) to qualify as a doctor and sustain a credible career takes a lot more hard work than becoming an HR Manager.
b) Doctors move around hospitals during their training years. But when they get appointed as a consultant, they usually stay at that hospital for the rest of their career, unless something significant happens. They see Chief Execs, Managers, and HR Professionals come and go. The only other long serving employee is usually their medical secretary (which in itself will deserve another blog post). Their view and perspective is on the long-term and therefore this influences how they manage their relationships.
It’s not hard to address someone formally at the start of the conversation. It sets the tone. By showing respect I believe that I am taking one small step towards building good, credible relationships with Consultants.
So I think my HR Manager is wrong. We aren’t equal and I think it’s delusional to think that we are.
Hear hear. As soon as someone opens a conversation with my first name I immediately know that they are cold calling – to be a close enough friend to call me Richard or Dick you actually have to be my Great Aunt, sister or niece.
There are so many potential issues for debate here I’ll just restrict myself to two related comments, on organisational culture.
Firstly, if a senior colleague (in any walk of life) introduces himself as “Bob” he is implicitly inviting me to call him Bob. If there is an organisational culture that I should refer to him by his professional title then the subtext of his greeting is that he doesn’t like and would like to subvert that prevailing culture.
Secondly, it says a lot about the NHS’s culture that status and position are apparently more important and worthy of “respect” than personal qualities.