The nerve of some people...?

[redfathom]

Okay, so our company has a temp to hire receptionist/"my assistant" she has been with us since Feb and once her four months are up we can hire her fulltime from the temp agency. Here is the MAIN issue:

 

Between May and June she has missed or gone home early 12 days. Two days vacation, four days calling in sick and six days leaving early (when I say early, I mean before 10am).

 

Now, I get an e-mail from her saying that her sister is coming to visit (she already bought her a plan ticket) and she wants to know if she can have six days off in July.

 

To me this seems a little bold! I mean if I had taken so much time off with in the last month and a half I would not be asking for vacation time. To top it off, she did not get permission before booking the plan ticket. What if I had already planned to take those days off. The professional thing to do it to get permission for X days then take the time off. We several clients that will be here during the time she requested.

 

I mean we have cut her a lot of slack and now this is asking too much. I am considering whether or not to even hire her now. I have not given her the permission. I checked with my bosses and they do not seem to mind, there deal is that since she is a temp we do not have to pay her for her time off so what does it matter.

 

My thing is, we need her to do her job. What are your thoughts, would you give this employee the time off?

[Lizzie60]

Okay, so our company has a temp to hire receptionist/"my assistant" she has been with us since Feb and once her four months are up we can hire her fulltime from the temp agency. Here is the MAIN issue:

 

Between May and June she has missed or gone home early 12 days. Two days vacation, four days calling in sick and six days leaving early (when I say early, I mean before 10am).

 

Now, I get an e-mail from her saying that her sister is coming to visit (she already bought her a plan ticket) and she wants to know if she can have six days off in July.

 

To me this seems a little bold! I mean if I had taken so much time off with in the last month and a half I would not be asking for vacation time. To top it off, she did not get permission before booking the plan ticket. What if I had already planned to take those days off. The professional thing to do it to get permission for X days then take the time off. We several clients that will be here during the time she requested.

 

I mean we have cut her a lot of slack and now this is asking too much. I am considering whether or not to even hire her now. I have not given her the permission. I checked with my bosses and they do not seem to mind, there deal is that since she is a temp we do not have to pay her for her time off so what does it matter.

 

My thing is, we need her to do her job. What are your thoughts, would you give this employee the time off?

 

Time off...no...pink slip .. yes... Get someone else... Fire this idiot! Imagine the hassle if you want to get rid of her later, after she's permanent.. how bold of her to take so much time off... weird... I guess she just doesn't care about her job...

 

No company would hire someone like her.

[quankanne]

refuse to hire her full-time. And let her know that if she *needs* time off, then she should do it on HER schedule as a temporary employee, not demand it from the company looking to hire here – a mature individual understands that there is a certain ettiquitte you follow, and it doesn't include slacking off or shorting your potential employer.

 

someone like her will demand a mile every time you offer an inch, and your company doesn't need someone like this on the workforce when there are many others willing to do the work to earn the wages.

 

just my two cents ...

[quankanne]

you might also want to give the temp agency an honest review of this employee's work ethics, citing all the things you've done here. It might hurt future employability, but it might also get her to shape up and realize this isn't like cutting college classes.

[Art_Critic]

She is a temp and the contract for hire is with the temp agency.

 

If she can't be there then the temp agency needs to send a replacement.

 

Personally I would look into replacing her as the temp.. if you are going to hire her from the temp agency a big fee is paid by your company to the agency to buy her from the agency.

 

Consider hiring her full time a bad decision.. there has to be some sort of ROI on this employee and you need to see it in her performance or hire a new temp

[redfathom]

Hi Lizzie60 and quankanne,

 

Yeah, I am thinking about that. If we do not hire her I would suggest not keeping her as a temp (we have to pay the temp agency for her and we pay them more then what I get paid, but she only sees half of it).

 

I should clarify, she does work a full 40 hours she is just not employed by us (she is a contractor).

 

There are other issues with her regarding the slacking: she has a lot of free time while at work yet things are not always done 100%. If I mentioned anything to her that needs to be fixed she argues about it then pouts. For instance: Since she covered the front, we need her to stay at the desk as much as possible, unless of course she has to be away from it to do something, i.e. stock or make copies. Well, she was slacking on making stocking the offices then when I mentioned it to her she said that was because she was told she needed to stay at the desk. YET, she smokes and takes about four smoking breaks a day which last about five minutes.

 

So as you can see there are more issues, but the most immediate is the time off she has requested. I think if we deny her the time off, she will most likely quit.

[quankanne]

Personally I would look into replacing her as the temp.. if you are going to hire her from the temp agency a big fee is paid by your company to the agency to buy her from the agency.

 

this is your best bet – she gets her time off, but she's also out of your hair and (hopefully) you'll get another temp who is a more productive worker.

 

dumb question time: If she's guaranteed 40 hours from the temp agency, but has taken off that much time from work, wouldn't this reflect on a time card? Or does she get full credit for going home sick or leaving after a certain time? But I guess that's not the real issue, which is having an employee who just doesn't cut it in your work environment.

[redfathom]

Hi All,

 

So I talked with my boss about it and this is the outcome: He said, we should give her the vacation because we do not have to pay her for it ("the bottom line" of it makes sense). He also said, this will determine if we decide to hire her. I got an accurate tally of her time off and it totals almost 100 hours of time off between Feb and Now (with a majority of those hours taken between May and June).

 

I guess we will wait to see what happens.

[Lizzie60]

Hi Lizzie60 and quankanne,

 

Yeah, I am thinking about that. If we do not hire her I would suggest not keeping her as a temp (we have to pay the temp agency for her and we pay them more then what I get paid, but she only sees half of it).

 

I should clarify, she does work a full 40 hours she is just not employed by us (she is a contractor).

 

There are other issues with her regarding the slacking: she has a lot of free time while at work yet things are not always done 100%. If I mentioned anything to her that needs to be fixed she argues about it then pouts. For instance: Since she covered the front, we need her to stay at the desk as much as possible, unless of course she has to be away from it to do something, i.e. stock or make copies. Well, she was slacking on making stocking the offices then when I mentioned it to her she said that was because she was told she needed to stay at the desk. YET, she smokes and takes about four smoking breaks a day which last about five minutes.

 

So as you can see there are more issues, but the most immediate is the time off she has requested. I think if we deny her the time off, she will most likely quit.

 

The time off is not enough .... now she's pouting... and not a good employee... wow... I wonder why you even question this...

 

Your the employer, you should kwow what kind of employee you want and take the measures to get a good one.

[Heavenly55]

there is your answer. Most temps don't care. All the temps at my last job did crap, left early, came in the office in jeans when we're not allowed to. This one temo who did this told me she's been a temp for 5 years she just temps from job to job.

[redfathom]

Yeah I agree! My boss even said when we talked that I am a "different type of employee". I told him that is the mentality that I do not want her to have or think that we have of her, then her expectations are that she CAN get away with this. I told him she is under the impression that we will hire her on when her contract is up, if someone wants to be hired on with a company why would they not give them there best. If she is not giving us her all now, what can we expect later when she finally get's what she wants. She will have great benefits and we will have a bad employee. I say no way!

[redfathom]

So, the temp above is uphappy and is looking for another job. She went to the last Executive Assiatant complaining about how I micromanager her and that her job is boring.

 

Welcome to the world of being a receptionist, it's hardly glamourous.

 

So the ex EA came to me very defensive saying that X was looking for another job and you need to find out how to make it work, etc. So as far as me being a "micro manager," I asked her to send me an e-mail at the end of the night, listing what she worked on for the day: i.e.

Booked flight and hotel for X

Sent package for X

Called 15 handymen to get prices

 

That's it, it takes about 1 min.!

 

Is that really micromanaging, I do not tell her how to do it or what order, just to keep me informed of what projects she is working on, so if she is bored (which she said she is) I know so I can give her things to do because she will not tell me.

 

Then she tells the ex EA that I only give her the jobs I do not want to do. Sorry that I don't have exciting work for her to do, I mean I: scan, e-mail, fax, copy, take dictation, find handymen, booked travel, book conferences, etc. That is what an admin does.

 

So, the whole time we are meeting, she has this smug look on her face and at the end I ask her what her thoughts are. She says, I feel like you hardly give me anything and when I do you complain about it. So I said, well what can we do to fix it and she say's "I will have to think about it and get back to you."

 

So I told her, I can't change your job so if you are not happy here because of that I can't help you. If it is something you think I could work on tell me I am open to it.

 

Oh, when she said she was bored I sent her an e-mail that said:

 

Take an hour today and think about your job and the office and come up with 1-2 solutions to make things work better then we can discuss it.

 

She says: I am not sure what you mean, if I am doing something wrong maybe you should tell me so I can fix it.

 

I say: Everyone can always do things better, when you came in processes and procedure were in place so try to think of ways to make things work better for you personally.

 

At the end of my meeting with the ex EA, she seemed to side with me and made the comment, "I told X if I was her supervisor I would have fired her a long time ago just over her attendance."

 

Personally, I do not need this BS. I have been patient and understanding with this girl, she has been here for almost four months so of course expectations are higher. If she wants another job, no problem, we can have someone else here tomorrow.

[roxy_1980]

Rather than spending large amounts of money on temps that likely will not work out, maybe HR should be doing a job search. There are recent grad that could do a better job than this woman. If they are worried about them not working out, that's what probationary periods are for.

[redfathom]

That is what my husband said! He said, there are lots of people that would like to have a job like the one she has and that made me realize that he was right and why am I even questioning this.

 

The ex EA sent her an e-mail that basically said she should needs to know how lucky she is to have a boss like me who is flexible and wants her input. That she should be greatful that I give her the opprotunity to speak up about her job and am open to making things work.

 

That is just how I work, the only thing is I realize that this person does not care about those things and I would rather have someone in her place who does.

 

I told my boss this morning that it is my recommendation that we let her go and he said we would talk later. I am still waiting to talk to him about it. I do not think he sees it the way I do, or I am getting the feeling that he thinks I am overreacting.

 

I just think this is the time for her to be on her bext behaviour knowing that we might higher her as a regular employee and right now I see no reason why we should.

[myblue_heaven]

Sounds like this temp wants something for nothing. She called it boring? LOL

My H has hiring and firing power, and he's told me many times of temps who come in and half a**ss work, and he finally gets tired of it and lets them go. He doesn't tolerate that crap.

If they're not gonna put in the time they knew they were supposed to when they were temped out then he lets them go and finds someone who will work the hours. Simple as that.

[redfathom]

Right, I can find someone else who likes working by the beach (we are seriously one block away) and we have great benefits, three fully stocked kitchens, picnics, parties, etc.

 

I just talked to our HR person because I was suppose to meet with her (my assistant) today to get her feedback and can't because my boss has not gotten back to me. The HR persons opinion and my bosses (so he believes) is that this is a bump in the road and we need to move past it. He said we can meet with her let he know our expectations and find out if she still wants to work here. My thing is that I don't want her to get the impression that the balls in her court. I want to let her know that if she can't and won't meet the expectations then it is not a matter of HER WANTING to stay but us letting her go.

 

I said to him, if this is the time to make a good impression because she knows we plan on hiring that person full time why is she causing so many problems. I mean going behind managment to talk smack with another employee is not cool. If she had a problem with me she should have said something to me or my boss.

 

I told him that this position might be a position we only higher temps for because it seems like there is a high turnover. I told him there is no point in hiring her for the job when she has a poor track record.

[monkey00]

Dont mention temp to perm. Temping in general isnt always so flexible, as every company/supervisor is different. Most places I've temped at expect you to be in everyday..unless you have an extremely good reason not to. But for the most part they wouldnt want you to take days off because they often have a high workload and calling in a replacement to familiarize them with the work is often a hassle.

 

If you dont talk to your temp directly, I would suggest speaking directly with her agent. Since you guys already have a good relationship with the agent, she can relay what you say back to her...or better yet send a replacement. And thats what most places do if problems arise with temps.

 

For the fact that this is temp to perm, she should be smarter than that. As it is the best opportunity to showcase off one's abilities before being hired as a perm employee.

[redfathom]

Hi monkey00,

 

Thanks, I wish we could get a replacement. Even after all this, she was an hour and a half late yesterday because her car got a flat the night before. And, today she is out because a pipe broke in her apartment and she has to wait for a plumber to come by this morning. I hate to be so bitter about issue like these because things do happen. It's just really bad timing. I mean this now makes 7 times she has called out from work since 5-2.

 

I am really not sure what to do, it does not seem like I am going to get the support of my boss on this issue. If that is the case then I will just have to recommend if he wants her to stay that supervision be removed from me and that he takes over that role.

[monkey00]

Hi monkey00,

 

Thanks, I wish we could get a replacement. Even after all this, she was an hour and a half late yesterday because her car got a flat the night before. And, today she is out because a pipe broke in her apartment and she has to wait for a plumber to come by this morning. I hate to be so bitter about issue like these because things do happen. It's just really bad timing. I mean this now makes 7 times she has called out from work since 5-2.

 

I am really not sure what to do, it does not seem like I am going to get the support of my boss on this issue. If that is the case then I will just have to recommend if he wants her to stay that supervision be removed from me and that he takes over that role.

 

Thats true, ***** does happen in life. The laid back person would see it as it is, the assertive person would not tolerate it and see it as utter BS. If your boss was anything like my past supervisors, they would just go for the replacement..of course there should be 1 or 2 warnings beforehand.

 

What you're doing is a smart move there. Being the supervisor responsible for that employee's performance (her) at work is in a dangerous position...unless you have any real say in the matter (like letting her go), your boss might as well be her supervisor then.

 

good luck

[roxy_1980]

That is absolutely ridiculous!

 

Your boss is paying top dollar to this agency for a good temp employee. They are paying twice her salary to a temp agency that is not doing their job either. They sent you a worthless, apathetic, ignorant, inconsiderate woman and expect you to pay top dollar for her. That's just a waste of company resources.

 

As for the temp, the broken pipe in an apartment can be looked after by the Super. Infact, that's their job. Someone who is on the brink of being let go does not wait around for plumbers. And the flat tire incident, well, if I were on the verge of being canned, I'd take the bus for the rest of the week and get it fixed on Saturday.

 

This woman is either a complete idiot or she is entering into a childish power struggle with you, because she knows that you are not the one who has hiring power over her.

[redfathom]

I agree with both you roxy and monkey00,

 

If I was in her shoes I would recognize that my attendance was an issue and these things would not take priority over my job.

 

As for the temp agency, they had never worked with her before. She told me she filled out an application and the next day she had an interview with us.

 

I just get so pissed thinking about it. My boss still has not met with me and I am supposed to meet with her tomorrow to get her feedback. Right now I don't care what her feedback is.

 

I mean she has the nerve to complain and try to turn other employees against me when she is an aweful employee. I really want to set things straight with the ex EA who confronted me about me causing her to be upset.

 

WTF???

 

I mean I can't believe this BS.

[redfathom]

So I talked with the ex EA just now. She said she hoped I would keep her out of this, but I explained I had alreay told HR and my boss about her coming to me about X complaining about me and work. I told her that I told my boss that she had the companies best interest in mind and that I would not have knowen the extent to which X was unhappy and causing issues if it was not for her.

 

I am not sure if she is mad about that, but it is what it is. I told her from here on out I would like to keep her out of this.

 

We talked about X attendance, she said people notice these things and she understands why I am upset.

 

I told her that I am more upset because I have been very cool with X over her attendance and other issues and because X is not getting her way she go and tried to bad mouth me to her.

 

At this point I do not care what people around here think, as long as I do my job, that is all that matters. I think it might be wise to start looking for a new job to keep my options open, if this is what it will be like working here I don' want to be stuck in a situation where I am unhappy.

[StandByMe]

She must be hot otherwise I'm sure she would already be gone. I suggest you just hire another hot secretary.

[Heavenly55]

She must be hot otherwise I'm sure she would already be gone. I suggest you just hire another hot secretary.

I have to agree with you on this. If you're a pretty girl you can get away with murder at jobs and will always get special treatment. But I will say that an old coworker of mine who pulled crap like this was 50+ & not attractive and she lasted close to 3 years before she finally got fired.

[redfathom]

Update:

 

So a few things:

 

1. On my review last week my boss said that the whole above issue was more dramatic then it needed to be. And that I guess I have learned a lesson from it but that overall I handled it well.

 

2. They are going to hire her as an employee, we have not met to officially discuss it.

 

3. She told me this morning that our HR Manager told her she is being hired on as an employee (which has not officially been discussed).

 

I guess they hung out at a party this weekend and he said "Monday, just wait til Monday." Which meant that she would then be hired as an employee.

 

So should I be upset about this. I went to him for advice when all of this was going down and recommended that she be let go. Then I find out that they hang out on fridays and weekends. I am not sure if this is an issue or not, I guess it depends on him and his ethics. If they are friends how can I trust what I tell him and how can I trust him to keep the companies best interest in mind.

 

What do you think?