Ask a Manager

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Do I have to drive my employee’s employee? I have an employee (there is a middle manager between us, so I am his grandboss) who doesn’t have a car. He was told when he got hired he needed a car for this job and he […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. We got a complaint call about a new hire before she started We hired a new executive director, who starts in a week. Did multiple reference checks (including a former direct report and a former supervisor), criminal background check, employment and education verifications, licensure verification, […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. An employee forced an unwanted kiss on my employee — and now they want to do mediation I run a nonprofit. Six months ago, a male employee of another nonprofit began kissing my female employee on the lips at the end of a series of […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. A candidate said “you shouldn’t hire me” at the end of our interview I wanted some feedback on the interview I conducted with a candidate earlier today. Overall, the candidate performed exceptionally well during the interview process, showcasing their skills and experience effectively. However, towards […]

It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. Management talks to us like we’re children I am a healthcare professional who works for a home health agency. We are all nurses, rehab therapists, or social workers — educated people with specialized skillsets. We rarely meet in-person but have daily phone calls, so I […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I was fired during my probationary period If you are fired during your probationary period, should you expect it to be without warning? This just happened to me, where I was let go of at the 60-day mark. I had a 30-day check-in, where the […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. A recruiter got angry that I contacted a company directly Someone contacted me through LinkedIn and said he was recruiting for an executive assistant role and asked if I had any contacts who might be interested. I used to work as an administrative coordinator with […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Are managers “deeply concerned” if you ask for feedback? A while back, I took an advanced class in a topic I’d never studied, but still within my department. I mentioned this to the professor before committing. This was a small class (~10 students) and as […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Coworkers have a mean group chat about another colleague I work adjacent to a group of mid-level managers in a customer service department. We share a similar job title, and my team supports their group (think management, training, quality, etc.). This group of other managers […]

It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. Coworker is pushing us to read her self-published Christian novel I work for a nonprofit that is provides a government-mandated service, is entirely funded by the government, and has very close ties to the government. Most, though not all, of my coworkers are fairly liberal […]