Do not under any circumstance have the late attendee do anything out of the ordinary in front of the class, such as singing. You will immediately alienate that student and possibly others. My suggestion is to accept your responsibility as the instructor and talk to them offline, and document the discussion. If they still do not respond go a step further and talk to the next person in their corporate ladder. Also, if not already done, state early in your presentation your tardy policy and even lock the door at a specific time so any late arrivals will have to have the door opened for them. That way YOU will not embarrass them; THEY will embarrass themselves by arriving late.

I have no way of officially holding people accountable for lateness, but I have successfully dealt with this problem in my organization by doing several things:

-Locking the door 15 min. into class and hanging a sign telling them to register for the next class. (and stick to it!!!)

-Starting on time regardless of who shows up - most people are embarrassed to walk in late, but if you habitually wait for them, they take advantage of it and you are reinforcing the problem.

-Adding text in the class reminder e-mail stating that if they don't arrive on time, they have to stay late to finish the class. This works best with classes where they receive certification for attending.

It has been a slow process, but I've found being consistant has paid off. As soon as you start sticking to the above rules, word begins to spread and change begins to happen on its own. You have to initiate a change in culture and a change in behavior. It doesn't happen overnight.

1. Arrange the seating so all of the students face the end of the room with the door. Late arrivers will be very uncomfortable when they have to walk across the front of the class.

2. Shut and/or lock the door after the class has started.

quote:

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Originally posted by Steven N:
I still think some of us here take life a bit too seriously.

Just remember time & place and audience - tailor to fit and you should be OK.
http://www.allfreejokeebooks.com/laugh.gif

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So, what is your suggestion, Steven? Perhaps nobody should respond in earnest? Okay... LOL

From the comfort of my snugly fitting straitjacket I marvel that the Nurse Ratched approach remains so popular.

Punishment.....mmmm...I'm a bit of a fan for thumb screws though HR(Head removals) favour more radical approaches. Electronic tagging has potential as does scopolamine but on balance you may be in the wrong field of work if you are still spending hours dreaming up suitable punishments for non-attenders. Too bad the Spanish Inquisition was before your time.

ILT does not = instructor led torture!

Good post Laura...a little levity is sometimes needed.