Fired one of my assistants

Whatever

I don't know where else to put this though it is not a question. Today, I had to fire one my assistants. She has worked for me for over 6 six years. An employee went to her to discuss a confidential matter. After the meeting, she went outside to smoke a cigarette and proceded to not only talk about the meeting with others, but she made fun of the problem. I heard about it immediately. She didn't know what got into her. As far as I know, she has never done this before. And while I know I had no choice (anyone who works for me knows that rule #1 is "keep your mouth shut.")and I even consulted with company president, right now I feel like going home and having a good cry. I haven't felt this bad for a long time. Anyhow, thanx for letting me vent.

ray a

Always a tough thing to do, especially after working together for several years. This morning I had to tranfer our receptionist, who worked for me, back to manufacturing. We told her up front what was expected of her, that she in answering the phones and greeting visitors was our first line of defense. She began to make it clear to everyone around her, including visitors waiting in the lobby, that she was bored, tired, or just didn't care. We had her doing clerical work for other departments to keep her busy, but she made so many errors, people stopped giving her things to do. It wasn't easy, I wasn't sure how she would take it. So far, so good. We'll see how she is tomorrow after she has time to think about it and hear any comments people may make.

lee2

Termination for a first offense? Seems a bit heavy after six years of good work.

Don D

Repeat after me: "I've got a tough job. Sometimes my job requires that I do things that aren't particularly comfortable. I didn't sign up to do just comfortable things. Sometimes my job makes me smile. Sometimes my job makes me cry. Whichever, I like my job."

SueB_Chicagoland

Don,
What a wonderful reply. I don't know if it helped the original poster but I know it helped me. Thanks.

Whatever

To Don D - Thanx. For obvious reasons, this termination was more painful than most.

to:Lee 2 - I have to disagree. It is absolutely essential that the people who work in HR keep a confidence. The employees have to know that if we learn anything of a confidential nature we will keep it to ourselves. When, I have to reveal anything, I always let the employee know who and why. If the employees have no faith in the discretion of HR, then, we cannot do our job. This ee, who should have known better, revealed a confidence to a few people who had no need to know. Then, to add insult to injury, she made fun of the ee.
This is not a minor indiscretion. This did damage to the HR department and could not be tolerated.

Zanne

Whatever:

I agree with you. As hard as it was to fire her, you have made the right decision. Now that she is gone, you will probably find out that this wasn't the first time something like this happened.

LFernandes

Terminations are the worse part of HR - even harder when it is one of your own. But you must maintain HR's integrity.

Go home, have a good cry and don't feel guilty. It was her decision to open her mouth - with six years in HR she should have known better. If she needed to talk to someone, she should have come to you.

LFernandes

Rockie

>To Don D - Thanx. For obvious reasons, this termination was more
>painful than most.
>
>to:Lee 2 - I have to disagree. It is absolutely essential that the
>people who work in HR keep a confidence. The employees have to know
>that if we learn anything of a confidential nature we will keep it to
>ourselves. When, I have to reveal anything, I always let the employee
>know who and why. If the employees have no faith in the discretion of
>HR, then, we cannot do our job. This ee, who should have known better,
>revealed a confidence to a few people who had no need to know. Then,
>to add insult to injury, she made fun of the ee.
>This is not a minor indiscretion. This did damage to the HR
>department and could not be tolerated.

Whatever:

I can just about guarantee you that this is NOT the first time this happened. Once you lose trust in your assistant, especially in the confidential arena we work in, the work relationship is damaged beyond repair As painful as it was, you did the right thing.

Ruby Tuesday

I think we all know how you feel. I'm sending you a big hug xhugs to help cheer you up. Have a good cry and let it go.

Leslie

I feel your pain. One of my HR specialists who has been with me for almost five years - and with the company for almost 10! - seems bound and determined to term herself for attendance. We have a four-step progressive discipline, and this week I write her up on step three which carries a one week suspension. It bites.

Eva Armas

Whatever:

I deeply empathize with you. A good cry is often therapeutic.

Eva

LFernandes

and add to that a bottle of wine and bag of potato chips (my personal favorite).

LFernandes

xhugs

blw

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 07-07-03 AT 05:35PM (CST)[/font][p]I asked my assistant to resign in January or I would have to term her for tardiness. It was hard because she was great in so many other ways. I don't even count less than 10 minutes, but they were still mounting up. As you know, HR has to set the example. If we don't follow through, we can't ask others to. She was even so good as to email me one day that she was late that morning and I was at a meeting and wouldn't have even known it!

She gave me her notice and very quickly found a job in an attorney's office making much better money. I told her I was happy for her, but wanted to offer one piece of advice. Take her first paycheck and buy a top quality alarm clock! She laughed and we parted on good terms.

Margaret Morford

Whatever,

You did the right thing. She couldn't remain in HR after there was a confidentiality problem. You should be glad that it really bothers you. If you can fire anyone without it bothering you, it's time to change careers. So many HR people become so hard after a few years of seeing what we see that they need to find something else to do that will restore their humanity. It's a fine line that we walk between representing the employer's interests and the employees' interests - sort of like the fine line between genius and maddness!

Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]

Whatever

Thanx to everyone for their support. Yesterday, after work, I was treated to a hot fudge sundae with rocky road ice cream by two of my co-workers. Best medicine in the world. In any case, I feel much better today.

WOCO Frank

I know it's little consolation, but just keep in mind - there is no other department that depends so greatly on its integrity and credibility. The defense of both qualities is your top duty, and you did your duty well.