an employee is out to get my star performer, and no one else cares by Alison Green on February 6, 2024 A reader writes: I manage Tina, who is a genius. She’s fresh from school but has already saved our department tens of thousands. We acquired a few failed companies and Tina dove in, learned all their systems, and automated the pulling of data in a week. This saved us hundreds of hours in training and […] Read the full article →
my employee helped a fired coworker get a new job … and lied to me about it by Alison Green on February 5, 2024 A reader writes: I own a small business and a year ago hired an employee on a work visa, “Meg.” While at my company, she met another employee, “Belinda,” who I ended up firing a few months later due to numerous problems. Knowing that they remained friends, I did not discuss with Meg my reasons […] Read the full article →
my employee faked an email by Alison Green on January 24, 2024 A reader writes: My employee lied and said she cc’d the payroll department on an email about another employee, but payroll didn’t see it in their inbox. When I followed up with her about this, she forwarded the email to payroll “again,” but in fact just typed in “payroll@mycompany.com” in the cc section of the […] Read the full article →
my employee complains he’s overwhelmed while golfing mid-day by Alison Green on January 22, 2024 A reader writes: My employee, “Jim,” has been in the workforce for about 2.5 years and with my company for 1.5 years. After working with him closely for that time, I’d rate his work ethic as 5/10 (it’s not a concern, but he’s not impressing). However, he seems to believe that his work ethic and […] Read the full article →
an employee keeps complaining about her boss, who I manage by Alison Green on January 22, 2024 A reader writes: I have an employee who I’m having a hard time understanding how to manage. I manage Jessica, who manages Cynthia. Cynthia is very meticulous and holds people to incredibly high standards. This sometimes makes her difficult to work with, as she gets upset when others don’t work in the same manner as […] Read the full article →
I manage a friend and it’s not going well by Alison Green on January 17, 2024 A reader asks: Late last year, when my company had some turnover and we needed a high performer in right away, I weighed the pros and cons and hired a friend, “Mike,” who I had previously managed. The benefits to the business (at the time) outweighed the risk of jeopardizing our friendship. My issue now […] Read the full article →
my new employee refused to help a coworker by Alison Green on January 16, 2024 A reader writes: Today I had my first 1:1 with a new employee. At the time he was hired, we were filling two roles, one mid-level and one entry-level, and they both started last week. He did not interview well enough for the mid-level position, but we offered him the entry-level role and he accepted. […] Read the full article →
my new hire keeps uncovering problems … and I’m embarrassed by Alison Green on January 8, 2024 A reader writes: I’m the head of a small organization. A year ago, we hired a new person to fill a newly created position. Jane has 15 years of experience and knows what she’s doing in her field. She is finding problems and issues in many areas. She is gracious about these issues, doesn’t point […] Read the full article →
my new hire’s office looks like a dark, flickering bat cave … and is scaring off patrons by Alison Green on January 3, 2024 A reader writes: I’m the manager of a public-facing team where each of us has a private office with windows looking out onto a forest and meadow. The offices surround a work area for the general public. There is a break room on a different floor for meals and breaks. The direction I’ve provided to […] Read the full article →
the employee I just promoted wants to step down by Alison Green on January 3, 2024 A reader writes: I promoted one of my employees to manage her department about 10 weeks ago. This is her first management job and she has done an amazing job in her new role — implementing much-needed changes and efficiencies while gaining the respect of her entire team. This was verified in a recent anonymous […] Read the full article →