Introduction
Shelly
Lusk has had managerial experience for about 30 years since she worked as a
manager in a Payless Shoesource location at the age of 18. She was graciously
willing to give of her time for this interview about the process and challenges
of hiring, disciplining, and firing employees.
Hiring
Her
hiring process was very similar to others I have encountered. It included
posting an add, carefully reviewing resumes, interviewing, and checking
references. One step that I had not heard of before included a short phone
interview prior to inviting the candidate in for a face-to-face interview. In
this interview, she would go into more detail about the location of the office,
the hours expected, and other requirements for the job, and find out if the
candidate felt that they would still be interested in the position. She made it
very clear that she wanted her prospects to very clearly understand the role
they would be playing. In the phone interview and in face-to-face interviews,
it is important to ensure the job being filled is clearly defined for each
candidate. Sometimes she would even have a short shadowing period where someone
interested in the job can follow another employee for about ½ an hour so they
could truly see what they would be doing.
I
feel like this aspect in hiring is not emphasized enough. I think that if more
employers would utilize these or similar tactics, there would be fewer
employees who are hired on only to hate their job or realize it doesn’t fit in
with their life. While there are some people who will simply take any job, even
if they are willing to leave after a month if they don’t like it, making expectations
clear from the beginning would both help find the best applicants and build a
trusting, open relationship from before a new employee even starts working.
Along
with choosing candidates, it is important to ask questions that will help you
see truly how a person is. Giving them a chance to impress you, as well as
asking experience questions can help you get to know the candidate and find out
how they will respond under certain circumstances. According to Shelly, the
three most important attributes in any employee are integrity, loyalty, and
knowledge (with ability to learn). I think that if a manager identifies those
qualities they most desire prior to initiating any contact with potential
hires, they can better determine who will be the best fit for them.
Discipline
Disciplining
employees is all about communication. If there is a problem, talking with the
person who needs correction is always the first step. Communicating that there
is a problem without being condescending can help open the pathway to
improvement. Working with the offender to discover why the poor
behavior/performance is happening and what can be done to fix it is the best
approach. However, if simple communicating is not enough, formal written
warnings need to be initiated with clear penalties for lack of correction.
Shelly involves human resources at the step prior to termination to ensure she
is within the law, wording is correct, steps taken have been adequate, and
documentation is sufficient.
When
handling complaints, it is also important to empower employees to fix their own
problems. If they approach a manager with a problem, they should also come with
a solution. Then the manager can watch for the bad behavior; chances are if the
employee complaining is correct, the offending employee will have other
indiscretions. Empowering the staff to help each other improve, as well as
stepping in when need be are important aspects of maintaining peace in the
workplace.
Shelly
admitted that she had overlooked poor behavior in the past because of high
productivity. She identified this as a mistake on her part, and said that over
time she realized that the person was so manipulative in all things that they
weren’t even as productive as she had thought. She feels in the end it is never
worthwhile to allow someone to display unscrupulous behavior regardless of
their expertise or seemingly high qualifications to get their job done.
Firing
Unfortunately,
firing employees is a necessary duty of most managers. Occasionally, someone
will be fired with no warning for few things such as stealing. However, even
blatant disrespect can sometimes be worked on and corrected. For the most part,
employees should be well aware that termination is coming because of the many
steps in the disciplinary process. Even still, almost all of them will claim
they had no idea it was going to happen, or that they don’t understand why it
is happening. This is of course why proper steps and documentation are
essential.
There
are occasionally instances when an employee needs to be let go simply because
they are unable to perform the job. They may be wonderful to work with and try
really hard, but simply cannot fulfill the needed task. This is a very
unfortunate circumstance, and should happen rarely if the manager has done a
thorough job through hiring process.
A General Note
In
any area of hiring, firing and discipline, personal feelings should never play
a part. In fact, it is best for managers to refrain from “having a best friend
at work” among their employees. This makes it more difficult to discipline when
needed, and may cause actions to seem unfair to other employees. It is also
important to realize that not all personalities mesh well. Despite this, people
of many different temperaments can work together to achieve a common goal and
create a productive workplace. In times of anger or shock, it is always best to
allow yourself some time before making decisions, or even responding to certain
things. Any time a situation becomes heated between individuals- whether co-workers,
manager and subordinate, or any other combination- it is important to give
everyone some time to think clearly before starting in on communication to
identify and fix the problem.
Summary
Communication
is the main feature throughout all aspects of bringing in, dealing with, and
letting employees go. Maintaining authority throughout employment while still
remaining open and approachable can facilitate a team environment where people
feel their opinions are heard and they are treated fairly. Diligent attention
to aspects of prospective and current employees can help guide decisions.
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