This is my 2nd employee. The first one I am going to have to fire.
It’s due to a lack of effort. Phones and music are allowed due to the job being monotonous. Every time I pass by their office they quickly get off the phone.
I can tell when someone is trying or not with this specific job. Also, I have asked and stated to ask me any questions if needed. Expectations are clear.
This is the 5th day they are working for me. Do I need documentation?
You going to shake that leech off my guy. They’re going to drain your business
Jesus, have you actually talked to the employee at all about their performance yet? I’m not sure what industry you’re in, but there’s a good chance they believe they’re meeting your expectations. If they aren’t, you should start with a sit down to let them know what you would like to see improved. Like the other poster said, it is a good idea to have a paper trail, so maybe make them sign something during this meeting to demonstrate that the meeting was held and expectations were put in place.
With such an immediate firing, I would err on the side of over-documenting than under.
Yes. Clear expectation with # attached. I talked to them today due to the advice given
As a followup, I’m sure phone time is hurting their output, but is it possible you’re holding the new hire to the standard your longer employee is held to? Being able to meet the quota of a veteran employee after only 5 days on the job tells me either the quotas are set too low, or your expectations of your new hire may be too high.
Talk to your HR dept and term immediately. It’s so early on I’d take the fastest route possible.
How do you think a company of 3 people has an HR department?
Try having a conversation with them first. Going straight to firing after only 5 days says alot about you.
I’m open to feedback. What does that say about me?
I’d start off with a warning or a talk, have HR present, have them sign a sheet where they agree on what has been spoken and that they’ll work on fixing these issues. Could be some keypoint areas you want to cover, go over them, explain them, and have them sign it at the end of the meeting. 3-strike rule in my opinion, also depends on what state you’re in.
This is a company of 3 people… Do you think that 50% of this person’s 2 employees are the HR department? I can’t even fathom your line of thought here.
I’d talk with them first. If that doesn’t stop it then just get rid of them and move on. Hell, I’ve fired 4 this year already. I don’t have time to screw around with shit employees.
If “expectations are clear” and they are not meeting them, then talk with them.
If “expectations are clear” and they are meeting those then not sure I understand why the problem is with them. Phones are allowed, expectations are met. If you are concerned about “low effort” then make it clear that the appearance of giving effort is a priority for you, regardless of outcomes.
Not meeting expectations.
You can have your cake eat it too… that specific employee has a brand new cellphone policy starting at your next 1:1 I think. No phone until task completed. Act like a child get treated like a child. If they don’t quit or your problem isn’t instantly resolved, I dunno what, but I’d start there. As others have said transitioning into a new job is stressful, whether or not the work itself is, just due to all the surrounding logistics that complicate life when people are generally seeking employment. Be direct and open and honest with them, your policies sound like a dream to me if I were in those shoes because I need music to multitask. No one under the age of 40 feels complete without their phones in their pocket, whatever that says about our society 😂, they’ll be done first for the following week every day and then you can go back to normal. Employee will learn the lesson and appreciate the opportunity to grow when they look back on it, or they won’t and they’ll go waste somebody else’s time and money.
It may your policies or more likely you simply hired the wrong candidate. You can keep the music/cell policies and cultivate a culture of “get results and this can be an easy job” or you can effectively punish good staff because you hired shit staff. Other commenters have suggested basically supervising them more and this that or the other thing. Just hire the right people and they will get their shit done and appreciate the respect you give them.
The only question that needs asking is: "have you adequately trained and supported this person. If the answer is yes, fire them now. Save yourself time and headaches and start hiring their replacement. If the answer is no, genuinely no, then take the time and make sure they are trained and supported. Then ask yourself that same question again.
How many times I have heard a business owner tell me how they should have fired somebody sooner but they wanted to wait and see. Yeah, 9 times out of 10, in my industry, they wait and get to see one of their commercial trucks flatten another driver out on the road. Like seriously not kidding. And why did they wait? Well employee X just had a kid or employee Y is new or employee Z is good friends with someone I know.
Fuck yeah you should. Are you kidding? You’re not paying them to doom scroll and bullshit with friends. The policy should be emergency calls only, and emergency really means emergency, not scheduling drinks with friends.
You’re incentivizing the wrong behavior. Reward the desired behavior with money. Right now you’re rewarding them with phones and music for mediocre performance.
Yes - it’s your relaxed policies that are killing you. You’ll always get the “I can be on my phone all day” types because of this. It would be worth digging into your data to make this position as efficient as possible. Is it really a full time job? Can they produce more if/when focused? Is there not enough demand? Lots of unanswered questions I’d want to get to the bottom of.
Are they getting their work done?
No. Not close, I can see by the responses that I wasn’t clear enough. I told them if the job gets done early they can leave whenever (full day paid). I do not care that they are on the phone while working. I care when they are scrolling on the phone while being way behind.
Are my expectations too high for someone day 5? No, I can train someone off the street right now that could do more tomorrow. The employee done more day 1 & 2 then 3-5.
I’d ask myself a few questions if I were you.
- Did I set clear expectations on what is expected and what is not allowed?
- Have I given any feedback yet on their performance as to where they’re at with my expectations?
- Am I 100% positive that they know exactly what they’re supposed to be doing?
If your conscious is clear on all of these, then see what your hiring contract says. Usually there’s a probationary period that makes it very easy to fire someone. If you don’t have that and their performance is bad, just let them go. You’re going to waste more money on a wasteful employee than them trying to collect unemployment after 5 days.
--
All that being said, this sounds like a hiring issue. You’ll learn with time what to look for during interviews.
Be careful. I had an argument with an employee and told him to cool down and go home. He took it as if I had fired him. Before I knew it, I was in a lawsuit.
Always document, always have a probation period and extend it if needed
Before you hire another employee, create an employee manual. This will spell out all expectations for employees, how they’ll be evaluated, corrected etc., performance reviews, compensation etc.
Even though you told them everything at the interview and repeated some of it on day one, they’ve already forgotten 2/3 of it.
It’s cute that you think an employee would ever read a manual
NotoriumPlanetorium hits the nail on the head below.
Ignorance is blis.
An employee manual is a basic component of good corporate governance for any size business that employs people.
The point isn’t that they would read it. The purpose is if things come back to try to bite him, he can point to the manual and say “I provided the employee with these clear and concise instructions with the expectation that they would read them and abide by them”. If the employee couldn’t be bothered to read what is expected of him, it just helps justify the need to remove him from the position.
Yes. Absolutely this simple.
You’re crazy to allow phones and music. It sends the message that fucking around is acceptable.
You can provide a locker for the phone and include a policy in your hiring packet that phones are not allowed. Headphones with iPod should be OK.
Communication is incredibly important in business. Speak to them and encouragingly explain to them how they can do better.