Employees quit after a few weeks?!?!

[Notarealsignguy]

I thought about this last night Firesprint and I have to tell you a funny story! A friend/acquaintance offered to help me one Friday set-up my in-store spirit store - for free, no pay as she "works from home" Mondays and Fridays and is getting paid anyway. We had a nice time, it was an especially busy period for me with school starting. LOTS of parents in and out, school administrators, business people, etc. She was LOVING being right there in the excitement, talking to all the "important people". It was a big help on top of my normal work load to have someone else there checking people out. It wasn't uncommon for me to have 5-10 people standing there needing help. The overflow ended...but she didn't stop coming in...and then the gossiping started...and the nosing around...and the telling me how to run my business. I don't gossip about my customers, I never tell anyone about bad customers, late payments, etc. It's very unprofessional. Once she stated questioning why a couple invoices were two months old and if they were in trouble with their business or what...that was a red flag.

It's pretty clear the ONLY reason she is coming in is to "rub elbows" and get the gossip. Point in case. I had told her two Fridays in a row when she showed up (without me asking) that I didn't need her help. She seemed to get the point. Then she showed up again yesterday. I told her again, it's Friday, I just need to get my computer stuff done, run some errands, box some stuff up and I'm heading out. As she's out the door, holding it, the booster club gal walks in - she turned around, walked back into the shop and sat there the entire time until she left. Of course this woman had some gossip, which I will NOT repeat but I'm sure my "employee" will. Then she told me, "WOW, you are going need my help with that order, I'll be here next Monday and Friday!" I told her no three times...three times she told me "an extra set of hands and eyes is always needed!" and walked out the door.

So here I have a case where someone is so desperate to rub-elbows and learn some gossip that she is willing to work for FREE. Can you even believe this? I don't care what anyone says, this type of employee, free or not is not the right fit for a small business. I will begin the termination process Monday if she shows up.

Let us know how this one pans out.

 

[Johnny Best]

You make t shirts....

 

[JamesLam]

It's not a prefect process, and after 30 years we still get caught, but we try to run with the motto "hire slow and fire fast". It's not perfect, but it does make us slow down and really evaluate the new hires properly. That means properly vetting their resume, driver's abstract, references, education and job history, capabilities, etc. We find that our hiring success has improved and that employee retention is solid.

 

[FireSprint.com]

Yeah. A solid hiring process is key. We still can improve ours, but I feel like we're getting better at it. Some of it just comes down to being a reasonable judge of character.

 

[Stacey K]

I'm not trying to be funny here...never underestimate the power of Facebook stalking...I do this for potential renters. It's not foolproof but it does give you a glimpse into their lives.

 

[JamesLam]

I'm not trying to be funny here...never underestimate the power of Facebook stalking...I do this for potential renters. It's not foolproof but it does give you a glimpse into their lives.

Single White Female opens a sign shop.

 

[JamesLam]

I'm not trying to be funny here...never underestimate the power of Facebook stalking...I do this for potential renters. It's not foolproof but it does give you a glimpse into their lives.

Good point, there are many avenues that are available that often as small enterprises we overlook.

 

[Stacey K]

Just wanted to share what my bestie who is an HR manager for a large factory just told me they started implementing here in Eastern WI. Maybe it could help some of you?

-Removed attendance policy
-Removed quarterly bonuses which was partly based on attendance
-Add $2 per hour to your check for the week if you show up for the entire week (weekly bonus instead of quarterly)

They thought rewarding good behavior quarterly would work but it backfired if the employee would miss a couple days in the beginning of the quarter they had no incentive to continue. They are hoping people will be more willing to stick with this if it's weekly. If it starts to work they may raise the weekly bonus higher. Essentially creating 2 classes of workers.

 

[Boudica]

Just wanted to share what my bestie who is an HR manager for a large factory just told me they started implementing here in Eastern WI. Maybe it could help some of you?

-Removed attendance policy
-Removed quarterly bonuses which was partly based on attendance
-Add $2 per hour to your check for the week if you show up for the entire week (weekly bonus instead of quarterly)

They thought rewarding good behavior quarterly would work but it backfired if the employee would miss a couple days in the beginning of the quarter they had no incentive to continue. They are hoping people will be more willing to stick with this if it's weekly. If it starts to work they may raise the weekly bonus higher. Essentially creating 2 classes of workers.

Sounds appropriate. Also sounds a little complicated for HR. Maybe not. Would keep people from being sick on Friday. What if you show up, but get sent home?

 

[myront]

Advice I gave my three sons. Wherever you get employment always strive to do better than anyone else there. Keep yourself at the top. If a higher position becomes available you can only trust that you'll be looked upon as the one to fill that position. NEVER be late without an honest excuse and letting your employer know ahead of time. And don't be afraid to move on if you feel you are being overlooked or the job has no room for advancement.

Unfortunately too many employers continuously let sub par employees get away with bad habits. This can cause serious tensions for a team.

I think all that just went through one ear and out the other. lol

 

[2B]

Advice I gave my three sons. Wherever you get employment always strive to do better than anyone else there. Keep yourself at the top. If a higher position becomes available you can only trust that you'll be looked upon as the one to fill that position. NEVER be late without an honest excuse and letting your employer know ahead of time. And don't be afraid to move on if you feel you are being overlooked or the job has no room for advancement.

Unfortunately too many employers continuously let sub par employees get away with bad habits. This WILL cause serious tensions for a team.

I think all that just went through one ear and out the other. lol

My change would be WILL, using the notion MONKEY SEE - MONKEY DO!!!

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Unfortunately too many employers continuously let sub par employees get away with bad habits. This can cause serious tensions for a team.

At this point in time, this has been difficult for me and likely others. It's so tough to find employees that you end up letting stuff slide that you usually wouldn't. It's totally unfair to the other employees and also reflects badly on the boss but what can you do? A bad attitude or being rude to other employees is about the only thing that doesn't fly

 

[kcollinsdesign]

For some reason I can get a pretty good sense in the interviewing process what the intentions of a potential employee are. If I feel they will be a good fit, I share with them a salary matrix we came up with and ask them where they think they fit. I start them there. Same thing for all the employees, at any time (so nobody gets upset when I bring someone in at a higher pay than someone who has been there for a while). The system self-regulates: I have employees comfortable working at a lower pay with less responsibility, and a few who dig in and learn the job, get good at it, and are paid commensurately.

 

[FireSprint.com]

For some reason I can get a pretty good sense in the interviewing process what the intentions of a potential employee are. If I feel they will be a good fit, I share with them a salary matrix we came up with and ask them where they think they fit. I start them there. Same thing for all the employees, at any time (so nobody gets upset when I bring someone in at a higher pay than someone who has been there for a while). The system self-regulates: I have employees comfortable working at a lower pay with less responsibility, and a few who dig in and learn the job, get good at it, and are paid commensurately.

This makes alot of sense. Here are the different responsibilities in the organization. Take on as many as you like. If you do, and do it well, you'll be compensated accordingly.

The only trick here is to have all your SOPs and Job Descriptions well documented.

 

[John Miller]

I interviewed someone one time who had good solid credentials and a portfolio that looked promising. He was familiar with several software programs we use. I offered him the job and asked when he could start. he told me he had (can't remember now) x number of weeks of unemployment left that he wanted to collect before he started RED FLAG RED FLAG RED FLAG RED FLAG I never hired him.

 

[Boudica]

I interviewed someone one time who had good solid credentials and a portfolio that looked promising. He was familiar with several software programs we use. I offered him the job and asked when he could start. he told me he had (can't remember now) x number of weeks of unemployment left that he wanted to collect before he started RED FLAG RED FLAG RED FLAG RED FLAG I never hired him.

Good call. The idiot should have made more with his earned paycheck than he was getting in unemployment. You have to give him at least one point for honesty... stupid as it was.

 

[Boudica]

Ok, so the real reason I came here was for the gossip on the follow up here. Did she show up? Is she still showing up?

Oh yah... Stacey K how did that pan out? do tell...

 

[ColorCrest]

The only trick here is to have all your SOPs and Job Descriptions well documented.

But be open-minded enough to know that new hires might bring new and valuable procedures as well as job functions your company has not yet had to chance to discover.

 

[Boudica]

I'm a bit worried she won't gossip about the gossiper... how hypocritical?

Stacey has class. I wouldn't blame her... but we don't know this gal... so Stacey, your safe, please dish...

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Stacey has class. I wouldn't blame her... but we don't know this gal... so Stacey, your safe, please dish...

Stacey called me a grandpa earlier in a round about way. She's on my poopoo list now. It's a long list.