Receptionist Etiquette

KathyA

We have a very long-term employee (60+ years of age) who handles our receptionist duties (answering the phone, greeting visitors, etc,). She seems to be placing her emphasis on advocating for the caller rather than our Association. She is getting very brazen about snide remarks to managers and other folks. She's been a great employee, though tends to be stepping outside her boundaries just a tad. Any advice (in terms of being careful with ADEA)? Thanks so much.

Don D

Kathy: My advice is this. Forget her age. Forget she's female. Forget how long she's been doing the task. Approach it as a performance/discipline issue which it is. Deal with it the same way you would if she were a 31 year old man who was doing the same thing.

LindaS

Agree with Don - deal with the performance and leave out the rest of the "baggage". I've seen many instances where long-term employees start to "overstep" their boundaries simply because they feel it's their right due to their length of employment. It's possible she may not be aware of the ramifications her behavior is having on the rest of the staff. I would recommend sitting her down and making her aware of how her behavior is impacting the rest of the workplace. If that doesn't stop it, begin progressive discipline. The other option you have, if it's feasible, is to send her to a training seminar on the proper etiquette for a receptionist. I have utilized this before and it has worked (sometimes).

System

We have the exact same employee. I didn't know she had two jobs!
Seriously though, ours was a bit younger and the rumours started flying about her possibly going through menopause which when they reached her a tizzy was had. Luckily the situation resolved itself. She basically transferred herself to a different department and switched her hours to a schedule that reduced her contact with other ee's. I know that sounds crazy but the managers were so relieved and it ended up suiting their purposes so they just let it happen! All I can say is that I was on vacation in NC and was blissfully unaware!

Don D

I love it that women are part of this forum!! The men among us simply cold not get away with some of the things the ladies post...menopause, cotton balls and string, on and on. Often 'the girls' say what 'the boys' would like to say if they could get away with it. That doesn't apply to ME of course, just all the other 'boys'.

JM in ATL

Kathy:

I think it is INVALUABLE to send your receptionist to a training class. Especially for someone who is stepping outside of their boundaries (for whatever the reason).

I am actually sending my Recep to a class in October on Front Door Etiquette AND Security. She doesn't necessarily need much of the etiquette, she does get a little pushy at times, but at times she has to. But mostly I am sending her b/c she has never had any formal training for being a receptionsit and she has been doing it for a very long time. I want to say 10+ years.

Sometimes people get so comfortable in their jobs, they can do it blindfolded and lose some passion they may have once had for it. That is why I think it is important for people to attend refresher classes and possibly learn something new.

Padgent-Thomas (Sp?) has some recep training classes that are very reasonably priced. I think it would definitely be worth the $150 to send her for a day. And who knows, it might be refreshing for her to get out of the office for a change too!

If you company can not afford to send her to a class, not only would I discuss her behavioral issues, but also give her the opportunity to expess any concerns that she may have about her job or those who affect her job. It could be the reason for her behavioral issues. Good Luck!

ray a

Our previous receptionist, a woman in her mid 20's, developed an attitude similar to this example. Beyond that, she exhibited a very unprofessional attitude in how she sat, eat at her desk, read her books, chewed her gum, etc. and didn't care who was in the lobby. After she became pregnant, it got worse. To the extent the plant manager and corporate offices ordered me to do something. She had come out of manufacturing, so we very neatly transferred her back to her old job at a pay grade one level above where she had been and equal to her current position. It was a lateral move. Soon she resigned. It worked out well and smoothly.

And Don, I would never even think about saying some of those things. You must be talking about the other guys.

mwild31

It seems to me that just about the only time the ADEA could be an issue is if your going to fire this employee & replace with younger or if your going to demote her & replace with younger - based on age alone. Hopefully, the mention of her age on this post is simply to shed light on your concern about possible ADEA ramifications & not because it plays a factor in how your organization regards this individual. It sounds from your post as though this is a discipline issue about performance, so in your situation, I would pull her in & discuss the performance issues at hand and the consequences for her noncompliance.