Jane was a pain in the butt.
In her government job as a voucher examiner, she was responsible for verifying purchase requests. She was not very good at this job. She was very slow and didn’t pay attention to details.
In addition to her poor work performance, she was a workplace bully. People avoided dealing with her because she was a gossip and a backstabber.
Did I mention that she also ran a part-time business on government time scheduling bus trips for gamblers going up for weekend trips to Atlantic City? Using government computers, internet, and fax machines?
Oh yes, and she was the union rep who spent a great deal of paid time (she was allotted by contract 3 hours per week but took much more) doing “union business” which usually was taken on Friday afternoons. Off-site. The “business” by the way was supposed to take place on-site.
And, when a supervisor tried to write her up and give her corrective action without documentation, she filed a complaint against him. He was reprimanded. She was given a cash settlement.
Believe it or not, Jane was promoted quite often. She was rated about the same level as her harder-working peers. People were afraid of Jane. Peers and bosses alike.
Until one day when a new Boss arrived. Jane’s new supervisor looked at the situation and made it her mission to get rid of her. By the book. She spent an average of two hours per day focused solely on Jane. She held Jane to the standards in the handbook. She observed. She documented. She monitored. She accumulated internet usage, fax, and telephone data. It was tedious and stressful work.
But two years later, she finally had enough data to fire Jane. Jane of course appealed, but with the vast amounts of documentation, her appeal was denied. And she was gone for good.
And EVERYONE in the department celebrated.
True story, only the name was changed.
Yes, I know this is a federal employment story but I’ve seen Jane-like people in all different industries. Bad employees are allowed to stay because supervisors are too busy or too lazy to crack down and document.
If you’re The Boss, dealing with Jane is part of your requirement to “protect the house.” If you owned the company and Jane worked for you, would you let her stay? Probably not. If you have Jane at your company, quit messing around and get busy fixing this problem. How?
- Take ownership. You’re The Boss. It’s on you to get it done.
- Observe. With your eyes and ears.
- Investigate. The complaints and rumors you hear.
- Confront. Use data and be specific. Refer to the policy manual.
- Document. If it isn’t written, it didn’t happen.
- Follow through. When you set deadlines, hold to them. When you threaten consequences, keep your word.
I don’t want to put you on a witch hunt. I do want you to be successful as The Boss. Your company is depending on you. Your team is depending on you. It’s your house. Protect it at all costs.