Disturbing "hate" mail

traceyb

Listen, I used to like people...
We are a growing aviation firm who recently hired
an Air Force retiree (female) to direct its
dispatch team. She is no-nonsense, results-oriented, and is doing a great job. Her
assertive nature, however, is raising a few hackles.
Over the weekend, someone "from outside the company"
sent an extremely vindictive email to our President,
saying he came on-site to accompany his son on a job search, and (let's call her Jane) someone named Jane opened the door for him.
He said he wished to apply for a job, and was told
by "Jane" to "get his ass off the property."
Interestingly, the email was sent at 23:30 Saturday
night, from an account that was set up at that time.
Jane swears she never had that encounter, and I
believe her. Too many things made no sense. It
smacks of someone out to destroy a coworker, and,
honestly, I don't have the skill set to come up
with a plan. Has anyone ever had this happen?
I guess we just ignore it for now, but "Jane"
is understandably hurt. Maybe this sort of thing
happens all the time, but it's a first for us.
Any ideas?

Thanks, Tracey

ray a

Sounds like you've done the right thing so far. This really amounts to an anonymous complaint, which is something we've discussed before on the forum - you can do a search.

From what you've said, it does sound like someone trying to get even, the email sounds very suspicious.

If you've done an investigation and you're satisfied that Jane did nothing wrong, then drop the issue. Keep the email, someone knowledgeable can trace the IP address for you if there are more received. But, don't lend credence to someone who is playing a game.

mwild31

I agree with Ray. x:-)

traceyb

Thanks, Ray. This kind of stuff is corrosive
to the whole group! I'll take your advice and
search the forum.

Tracey

Tony Kessler

Tracey, Ray is right. Search for "anonymous complaint," and you'll get quite a few hits -- especially if you click on the box that tells the system to "search the archives," too. The situation in the archived thread titled "Anonymous letter" seems very similar to yours. Call me if you need any help. tk

Tony Kessler, director of editorial
M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC
(615) 661-0249, ext. 8068

Paul in Cannon Beach

Send a response and ask for this person to call you and give you more information regarding the incident. Tell them you take these types of matters very, very seriously.

If its a hoax meant to hurt "Jane" they won't call. If its genuine, they will call and they should be able to provide details.

Better yet, invite them to come back and tell them you want to take them to lunch as an apology.

Save a copy of the e-mail. Chances are your straight-shooting employee has made a few enemies.

Toto

You have already done the right step, Tracey by treating the complaint as legitimate and proceeding to gather more information. We had a similar thing a couple yrs ago. Boyfriend posed as a neighbor of EE, sent email to boss. We responder to sender, investigated, documented, visited with EE but took no disciplinary action.

Paul has a good plan for additional steps. By responding to the sender, you gain the opportunity to verify if there is any basis to the complaint. Because it was anonymous and “too many things did not make sense”, should you not get a reply to your response, just document that you could not substantiate the complaint, are closing the investigation then send a statement to the President and the EE. If your EE feels unjustly suspected, just remind her all complaints need to be investigated.

Should the writer come across as believable, you have a standard “he said / she said” then you get to decide how to use it as a learning tool. One possible way on this minor an incident is to remind the EE that even though the complaint may be a hoax, any caller or visitor acting in a civil manner should be treated as a friend or relative of the boss because they might very well be.

Paul in Cannon Beach

Personally, I think the e-mail is a hoax and you have an even bigger problem on your hands in that you are employing a vindictive, unscrupolous liar who is not above sneaky smear tactics.

I would save that e-mail. It would be difficult to link it to an employee but I would keep it as documentation.

WT

I took over HR a roughly 15 years ago at this company and discipline was very slack as the General Manager, though very technically astute, could not bring himself to confront or discipline. The work place was not under good control at that time but over the years, we have made great strides. I have a folder full of various hate mail mostly unsigned from unhappy people. Be careful not to undermine your manager while you are trying to "investigate everything". It is hard to live and manage in enemy territory and it is not in your best interests to put a further heavy burden on a manager trying to change the culture to the benefit of the employer.

HR In NH

I generally do not investigate anything that is anonymous. I've found that 9 times out of 10 it is based on ulterior motives. It is not fair to our employees to make them go through an investigation initiated by someone who does not have the courage to come forward personally.

Instead, I make sure we have an open door policy and that HR is known for being discreet, helpful employee advocates, so anyone with a legitimate problem is comfortable coming forward.

Paul in Cannon Beach

Would you make a distinction between an anonymous complaint and an intentionally deceptive, misleading complaint that was meant to cause harm to the reputation of an employee?

I would think the latter deserves some investigation.

mwild31

I make the distinction between what's a good use of my time and resources (at company expense) and what is not. Chasing down anonymous complaints sent via email is not a good use of time. It's counter-productive to the employee getting "investigated" as this person is now put on the defensive about a questionable complaint.

Paul in Cannon Beach

Chasing down anonymous complaints would be a waste of time.

I see this situation as different. An employee may intentionally be trying to defame the reputation of a co-worker. To me that is serious enough to justify the investment of my time.

That said, I like this kind of investigation. Must be the part of me that wanted to be a cop.

Toto

In my perspective, a return response to the sender would not take any more time then replying to a forum post. Yes, the complainer may be crackpot (is that a medical term?) or someone (perhaps another EE) specifically targeting “Jane”. If they don’t identify themselves their credibility is nil, I document, close a very short investigation & file. When telling Jane we investigate, mention that credibility is a major factor and hers was very good. With her background she should easily understand, especially with nothing going into her file. I think it is worth the short amount of time invested with no adverse impact on the EE.
Now if Jane is too defensive about something that appears minor there may be a little more to the story but you may never know.