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Help with problem employee
I (25, female) was recently promoted to manager at my small business company. One of my employees (56, female) that I am responsible for has become an issue. Examples of what she has done include:
- mismanaging client accounts (all small amounts, but it's important)
- badmouthing me behind my back to to other employees and then denying it when confronted (at the same time being super-nice to my face)
- insisting that I have the problem with her
- refusing to complete all the duties as outlined in the job description
- taking longer on client outings, which hold up other clients for hours
- taking a valid criticism (she is always late for work) and turning it into a personal attack (I expect perfection out of her, and she is going through a rough time)
- breaching our client oath of confidentiality.
Clearly, I am a new manager. She is also several years older than I am. I have begun a paper trail of these incidents, but is there anything I can do or say to her that will force her to stop gaslighting on me, and take responsibility for herself and her job?
Thanks in advance!
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I was a manager once and all it took was 3 incident write ups to fire someone.
However, a couple of the things you list should really be serious enough for immediate termination.
Especially the confidentiality breach.
There are so many people out there looking for work.
I would start looking for a replacement and get rid of this employee. As a new manager you certainly don't need someone like this making you look bad or starting things behind your back. Show all your employees that this sort of thing will not be tolerated.
Don't be afraid to ask advice of those who employ you either. Go to them with a plan of action & find out their policy on terminating an employee if you are unsure or don't have a copy of it somewhere.
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well if i were you i would fire that person thats more than just a few mistakes. YOU need a better worker good luck
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I find that I am a great deal older than most of the advisers on this site, so my advice will be somewhat different from what you have received and may continue to receive from others.
Some people have a problem working for people younger than themselves, especially if they have been with the company longer and feel they passed over for the position you have. To prove this they push the envelope as far as possible in the hope that upper management will rethink their choice of you to fill the position you have.
There is only one way to handle a situation such as you have with this employee. A written warning of where her productivity and work ethic is below acceptable standards. You also need to outline, with dates for compliance when you expect marked improvement by. As far as arriving on time for work it is acceptable to demand immediate improvement.
Once you have the written letter of warning typed and ready to present to her; call her into your office and close the door. If you do not have an office; find someplace where the two of you can meet in private. Once you two are alone immediately establish that you are her supervisor and you are not satisfied with her attitude or work product of late. Do not allow her to take control of the conversation. If she starts to talk tell her you are talking and that she is to sit there and listen, you will give her ample time to respond when you are finished.
It is at this point, if she is the type of person I think she is, she will get up and start to leave. Your response is: “If you walkout that door pick up your things and go home your employment her is terminated”. At this point one of two things will happen. She will either call your bluff and continue to walk away or she will sit down. If she walks away you must go through with your threat to terminate her employment or lose the respect of everyone else in the office. If she sits back down, go through the written letter of warning line by line. Make sure she understands what is expected of her and when you expect to see improvement. Give her a copy of the warning letter and have her sign your copy. Make sure she knows that your copy will go into her employee file and will affect her annual review.
I know what I am suggesting amounts to swatting a fly with a sledge hammer. There are times though when there is a need to establish authority that the sledge hammer approach is quickest way to establish that authority. You can try a softer approach with this lady; my feeling is that if you do so she will see you as weak and continue to walk all over you.
Good luck.
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