employee freelancing...........

[Graphics@ToysForTrucks]

I have an employee who is freelancing........ I just don't know how to handle it.

#1 She claims "she mentioned" during the interview that she also does freelancing, I would have VERY VIVIDLY remembered that, 2 were present at interview, and neither of us remember her saying that.
#2. The contract she signed, she accepted the "no moonlighting" as well as "no compete".

ADVICE?

 

[Joe House]

seems like if she signed the contract stating she wouldn't freelance or moonlight or compete against her employer, you have the right to demand she stop or face disciplinary action up to and including termination. The next question you have to answer is this: Is she doing more damage to your company doing this freelancing (by directly competing with design work that would normally be billed through your company or she is not getting her work done on time because she's doing this other work or is she doing this on company time) than she would do by leaving your company?
If freelancing via the internet on jobs that would have no chance of coming through your shop, then seems like a good way to support an employee. If she is harming you, then give her the option of changing her ways or let her go. How easy will it be to replace her?

 

[Solventinkjet]

What exactly is she freelancing? Is she making signs on the side or just designing for other clients in her own spare time? If she is selling a service or product on the side that you offer, then she is in breach of contract and you should fire her. If she is freelance graphic designing on the side for clients that are not in direct competition with you, you probably don't have much standing to do anything.

 

[Graphics@ToysForTrucks]

seems like if she signed the contract stating she wouldn't freelance or moonlight or compete against her employer, you have the right to demand she stop or face disciplinary action up to and including termination. The next question you have to answer is this: Is she doing more damage to your company doing this freelancing (by directly competing with design work that would normally be billed through your company or she is not getting her work done on time because she's doing this other work or is she doing this on company time) than she would do by leaving your company?
If freelancing via the internet on jobs that would have no chance of coming through your shop, then seems like a good way to support an employee. If she is harming you, then give her the option of changing her ways or let her go. How easy will it be to replace her?

It would be hard to replace her........ I do not know if she is using company time to complete the jobs. they are only design jobs...... she claims they are out of state on the instant message history to another employee.... I have yet to talk to her about it., her yearly review is coming up. I thought it would be a good time to bring it up.

She recently bought a home, (which I was super excited for her), she thank me for allowing so much overtime and being able to qualify for her house. She also said she would be able to get fast internet (which leads me to believe, that she is using company time and computers to finish her jobs, design files are big, you need good fast internet to send, I dont know how bad her internet was and what it limited her to do, but from what chit chats we have had, it was not very good)

 

[Graphics@ToysForTrucks]

What exactly is she freelancing? Is she making signs on the side or just designing for other clients in her own spare time? If she is selling a service or product on the side that you offer, then she is in breach of contract and you should fire her. If she is freelance graphic designing on the side for clients that are not in direct competition with you, you probably don't have much standing to do anything.

She is freelancing design jobs.....

 

[Solventinkjet]

She is freelancing design jobs.....

I'm no lawyer but basically once she leaves your door at night, she can do whatever she wants. Unless she is stealing designs from you or selling prints/designs she made while on the clock with you, there isn't much you can do. So if you sell a certain design on a mug and you see her selling the same exact thing, that's a friable offence. But if she is just using her GD skills to make extra cash on her own time, that's her prerogative.

 

[Johnny Best]

We use to call it "snapping".
Let her do the extra work or give her a raise so she doesn't need the extra money. She seems energetic in her work and when you have a fast racehorse in your stable, you have to let it run and not hold it back. You sound like she is a good worker for you and she is not so sealing from you, so be happy about her talent and let her run.

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

It would be hard to replace her........ I do not know if she is using company time to complete the jobs. they are only design jobs...... she claims they are out of state on the instant message history to another employee.... I have yet to talk to her about it., her yearly review is coming up. I thought it would be a good time to bring it up.

She recently bought a home, (which I was super excited for her), she thank me for allowing so much overtime and being able to qualify for her house. She also said she would be able to get fast internet (which leads me to believe, that she is using company time and computers to finish her jobs, design files are big, you need good fast internet to send, I dont know how bad her internet was and what it limited her to do, but from what chit chats we have had, it was not very good)

If she's on your property using your computers (also your property) you can search them for files that aren't your clients'. You can do this either when she's not there if you want. There is no expectation of privacy when she's using your computers on your time.

 

[AKwrapguy]

I've had this conversation with my employers before. It's not that bad. Just be honest with her and share your concerns. An open communication between employee/employer more valuable than you could ever imagine.

 

[ikarasu]

Take some interest in her, and see what she's doing.

I "Freelance" also.. I purchased my own printer after I started at this company. No no compete or nothing... I was hesitant to let the owners/managers know because I was afraid they'd feel like you do, and I'd eventually get fired. Then our work printer broke, and we were losing clients because of time sensitive work - I told them I had a printer, and I'd be more than happy to temp print stuff while our printers 1-2 week ETA fix was happening - They were more than happy to take me up on that offer.

They've never once asked me what I do with it... My managers even gave me ideas, told me to sell online... Loves how Canvas's look on my printer and said I should do Canvas's, etc. I could easily "Steal" business from my employer... But I appreciate / respect them too much for that. They're even nice enough to give me end of rolls for expensive vinyls I'm usually too cheap to buy for my "hobby". I even had a long term client find out I had a printer and offer me some work... I turned it down. I could have done it easily without anyone at my Company knowing.. But I personally think that would be crossing the line. I do sell stuff online, sell stuff to friends... Co-workers friends, pretty much word of mouth. It's a side business I'd like to eventually turn into a full time job, but even after I leave... I wouldn't try to poach my works clients, and I'd turn down anyone I know to be a current client of the company.

Your employee may be the same - She may even be moonlighting for an entirely different field. You have the power to fire her for breach of Contract it sounds like... So.. talk to her. See whats up, get her side. Tell her what your comfortable with, and not comfortable with. Set boundries, and everything should work out fine.

Treat your employees like you appreciate them, not some number on a payroll, and they'll likely treat you the same and not cross any Boundries. And if not... Don't feel bad about letting them go.

Odds are it was all likely a misunderstanding. They may not have seen the non compete, people get excited when they get hired and just sign where they're told. If she were trying to swindle you, she'd have kept it quiet and not said anything.

 

[Graphics@ToysForTrucks]

I am not too worried on out of state... I mean those people don't have a chance at coming here....... I treat this girl like family. My concern is for the future scenarios, when will she say no, what if the referrals eventually make it to my backyard, and she is still accepting them, rather than bringing them to the business?
how about, she was put in a real tight deadline, now she has called in, and our work here at shop is behind....

I think I will address it, tell her my concerns, give her a copy of the contract that she signed, and hear what she has to say.....

 

[ddarlak]

Scare away a good employee because you want that little bit more....

let her have some and RELAX

 

[neato]

When I was working for a sign shop and another print shop, I did exactly what your employee is doing. Both of my bosses not only were ok with it, but encouraged me to pursue my own work, as long as it wasn't a direct competition to them. In my case, they were even so kind as to let me work on my projects at work during slow times. That's not going to be the norm, I was just one lucky employee.
It was one of the things that kept me loyal to both of my bosses and happy in my job. I still appreciate them for it.
Like was mentioned above, I would find out more about what she's doing in a friendly way, but if she's doing freelance on the side, and not directly competing with you, I think it's a win for both parties. She's going to stay happy in her job and hone her design skills at the same time.

 

[ikarasu]

I am not too worried on out of state... I mean those people don't have a chance at coming here....... I treat this girl like family. My concern is for the future scenarios, when will she say no, what if the referrals eventually make it to my backyard, and she is still accepting them, rather than bringing them to the business?
how about, she was put in a real tight deadline, now she has called in, and our work here at shop is behind....

I think I will address it, tell her my concerns, give her a copy of the contract that she signed, and hear what she has to say.....

Who hasn't called in sick to take a personal day and goto the movies, or hang out with friends? It's not much different, IF she were to do that.

It doesn't sound like it's a problem for your business right now. So if it were me... I'd voice my concerns, in a nice manner. Let her know so long as it doesn't affect your business, you don't forsee it being a problem.

If someone likes her work and asks her to do something, Is it wrong for her to do it on the side? It's not like you're going to lose out on business because of it, that person could have went to 1 in any 50+ shops in your area. And even if on the off chance you did lose them... Will that one job make your employee not worth it? It'll likely cost you more money to replace / train someone else, than she will cost you throughout her whole employment with you.

That's not to say don't draw a line and let her walk over you. It's your business, and you're the one who sets the Boundries on what's ok, and what's not ok. The key thing is communication.

Also.. she may be bringing you in business, or eventually will. I had a Buddy who wanted a hood wrap in a material I don't use... I told him I'm not bringing a $800 roll of material in just for him, but my company keeps it in stock. I set him up with our sales guy... He got free labour out of it, and a reduced price, and the company made a profit on the vinyl. They never would have had that sale if it werent for me - And I never would have had that person come to me, if I didn't do my own wraps.

So it can be beneficial... The more work your employee does, the faster, and better she gets at that work. Look at it as she's paying to train herself... There are upsides, and downsides. Only you know the employee here, know what your companies work culture is like, and if it will be a problem to you. Go into the conversation before you decide anything. If you don't want her to do sidework, but want to keep her... Offer her a paybump if she'd be willing to stop completely.

She may NEED that extra income, And while I'm sure she'd rather lose her side gig before her main job... You don't want to hurt her life because your afraid of losing a couple bucks. Not only that... If you force her to quit,she may suck it up, then eventually go find another job that will allow it, and you could end up losing her in the first place.

 

[Graphics@ToysForTrucks]

Scare away a good employee because you want that little bit more....

let her have some and RELAX

I wouldn't say scare, I don't work that way, I never like showing power over people, regardless of who they are, though I think I do need to have a conversation with her and help me understand her better, and an answer to my question.

I def was curious as to what other owners would handle this, or even people who are in her position...

Like I said, she is like family, that is why it makes it hard to handle this, I don't want to hurt her or limit her on the amount of money she can make.... but, I do have concerns.

 

[AKwrapguy]

I wouldn't say scare, I don't work that way, I never like showing power over people, regardless of who they are, though I think I do need to have a conversation with her and help me understand her better, and an answer to my question.

I def was curious as to what other owners would handle this, or even people who are in her position...

Like I said, she is like family, that is why it makes it hard to handle this, I don't want to hurt her or limit her on the amount of money she can make.... but, I do have concerns.

There is nothing wrong with having some concerns and I don't think anyone here will fault you for that. I see that this something that maybe has bit you in the ass in the past, or has been a situation so your hesitant that with the relationship you have formed with the employee, it's a situation that you just don't want to deal with.

Again from someone that's been on both sides of this in every aspect including being friends with the person, a simple open honest conversation about it will help put your mind at rest as well as help out with any type of misunderstanding or confusion about whats ok and not ok.

Maybe during the conversation with her you sit and come up with an agreement together put it on paper and both of you sign it, this way she will feel like she's included and will be more likely to uphold her part.

 

[Graphics@ToysForTrucks]

There is nothing wrong with having some concerns and I don't think anyone here will fault you for that. I see that this something that maybe has bit you in the *** in the past, or has been a situation so your hesitant that with the relationship you have formed with the employee, it's a situation that you just don't want to deal with.

Again from someone that's been on both sides of this in every aspect including being friends with the person, a simple open honest conversation about it will help put your mind at rest as well as help out with any type of misunderstanding or confusion about whats ok and not ok.

Maybe during the conversation with her you sit and come up with an agreement together put it on paper and both of you sign it, this way she will feel like she's included and will be more likely to uphold her part.

Thank You!!

 

[C5 Service&Repair]

Way back, like way way back in the mid 90s, I was hired as a 'vinyl shop' guy for a huge company here. They do trade show exhibits and screen printing, etc. The girl they had doing their one off vinyl tradeshow graphics wasn't very good, so they promoted her to some desk job instead of firing her. Well they hired me, and I had a ton of vinyl experience, and frankly was damn good at it. They quickly figured out that they didnt need to screen print one offs anymore, and I got really busy, and they were saving a ton of money. Fast forward 4-5 years, and now I'm managing the entire place, started up a wide format printing department, have 15 employees under me, and I'm still only making $5/hr over minimum wage. This was a 9-10 mil a year company. Well, I started getting side work offers, so I asked my boss about it. Nothing I was getting asked to do competed with his company, and I told him every single job I did. He was fine with it, as long as I paid him for any materials, and gave him $20 every job to cover electricity. One day I asked him if I could use the fax machine to send a bill. (most of the jobs were for my brother who was a national sales manager for a well known company.) He said sure, so I sent it. Well the fax machine printed out a confirmation with the top half of my bill, and my boss saw that I actually was making about 20% on the money I was paying him for materials and electricity and WENT NUTS. Fired me on the spot, sued me for non-compete, sued me for trade secret act, (both of which he lost), and tried to black ball me for years. Now, I was running a vinyl dept, lamination dept, wide format printing dept, and film positives..... for basically $25k/yr.
After all of that, he lost it over what amounted to around $200, when he knew exactly what I was doing.
Long story short (too late), within a year he had 5 employees hired to cover everything I was doing for him. If your employees are busting their ass for you and do good work, it isnt worth losing them over a few hundred bucks they are making on their own time to support themselves.

 

[CreativeCreationGraphics]

When I was working for a sign shop and another print shop, I did exactly what your employee is doing. Both of my bosses not only were ok with it, but encouraged me to pursue my own work, as long as it wasn't a direct competition to them. In my case, they were even so kind as to let me work on my projects at work during slow times. That's not going to be the norm, I was just one lucky employee.
It was one of the things that kept me loyal to both of my bosses and happy in my job. I still appreciate them for it.
Like was mentioned above, I would find out more about what she's doing in a friendly way, but if she's doing freelance on the side, and not directly competing with you, I think it's a win for both parties. She's going to stay happy in her job and hone her design skills at the same time.

Same here, the best company I ever worked for

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I don't think I like the freelancing thing. One's loyalties and direction get muddied up.

I had two faces for a while... was a great and dedicated employee who was not compensated enough so I went fishing for more. When I told the owner I was going to do a side-gig he asked me if he'd rather fire me and "push the bird out of the nest to fly". I said no and ended up working for several more years while building up business enough that I could leave. Towards the end I was doing work on his time and cutting my hours. (I was also disgruntled with the very LOW pay I was receiving and thought he was exploiting the fact that I was making side money and he didn't need to pay me more..so I kind of didn't give a fuck if I worked on his clock.)

In the beginning I honestly thought it wouldn't amount to anything other then extra side work.. but it grew into a business that sustained myself and others.

Maybe your girl needs a raise or other projects that you can pay her extra to do on her time. Some people (like me) are not happy with only 40 hours a week and feel comfortable with more. Maybe she wants the freedom of handling her own clients and maybe you can give her more freedom and responsibility at your place.