Other people's passwords... and more!

It's not uncommon, at this time of year, for companies to reduce their staff.  Once upon a time, when you let someone go, all you had to worry about was getting back their keys to the front door and seeing that they cleared out their desk.

Nowadays, employers have another issue to contend with: being able to access all the files on someone's computer and otherwise making sure you can get at company e-mails, so there is proper follow-up on any issues that arise.

Having some strategy to deal with this is important, as you never know what people have been getting up to.  Several years ago, after laying off a member of my staff - who was of long service and someone I thought I could trust - I found that she had been using the company's e-mail address to operate her translation business.

I had long known she had offered translation services from home and didn't have a problem with that, but when I found out that the company's e-mail had been used for her business - and she had no doubt been doing her translation work when she was at the office - I saw red! 

There is an old saying that it takes many years to build a reputation but only a few months to destroy one. Witness the many prominent politicians who have been brought down in a short space of time when an unsavory behavior comes to light.  The same thing can happen to companies. When a person will be leaving but they don't yet know they are leaving, is the ideal time to take over e-mail accounts and make sure that any messages sent out are the ones you want sent out. This way, you can ensure such messages reflect favorably on the company.

A disgruntled employee can do a lot of damage if they send a negative e-mail to your entire customer list.

Given that the equipment that employees use at your premises are the property of the company, as an employer, it should be within your rights to know their passwords as a matter of course. Having a policy that they must not only let you know any passwords but also update you if and when they change their passwords is essential. Another option is to discourage all personal uses of company equipment, such as computers and any company-issued cell phones.While these things are hard to enforce, having clear policies about what is and isn't allowed, will protect you legally if and when you terminate any workers.

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

For either the print or electronic versions of this book, go to:

http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/other_peoples_problems/9268001

To contact the author, go to:

www.deborahcsawyer.com/dcs_005.htm

The sad reality of "damaged goods"

While every hiring situation poses some risk for the small business owner, if you allow a "kind heart" to influence your hiring decisions, you may find yourself with a counterproductive situation on your hands.
While it's always tempting, as the business owner, to think you might be able to help someone, in a small firm there are rarely the supports or resources to deal with potential outcomes. Sometimes, people who have been through job re-entry programs are really ordinary people just needing a fresh start. But, sometimes, they are people who have been so heavily damaged by past life experiences that there is probably nothing you can do for them.

This turned out to be true for someone I hired years ago named Kathy. Kathy was a white female in her mid-40s, she had had some work experience and had recently completed a job re-entry program. She was reasonably articulate and answered questions well at the interview. It seemed obvious to me, that there was some  intelligence there and, since the job we had was strictly basic entry-level, I decided to hire her.

Sadly, Kathy didn't work out well. She performed well enough when I was in the office but, as soon as I left (which was a frequent requirement) she behaved very badly. She swore loudly, including to people on the phone, and often slammed the phone receiver down and was otherwise abusive with company property.

Around this time, I had planned  a vacation out of the office - always a high risk situation for a small business owner! - and, when I came back, I brought all my staff a very small gift. I had been in India where all manner of very intricate work is available at a very reasonable price. So I bought everyone a small metal box with some tooling and inlay work. Most people thanked me for their gift but Kathy exclaimed: "No-one has ever given me anything before!"

However, this wasn't enough to inspire better performance from her.One of my office staff also told me around this time that, for Christmas, Kathy and her boyfriend were going to spend the day at a rifle range, practicing their shooting. This did strike us all as a rather unfortunate way to spend the holiday.

Due to the problems with her performance, when I wasn't around, and the slamming down of the phone, I eventually let her go.We did give her a good eight weeks trial before this occurred. However, when clearing out her desk after she left, one of my staff found a note Kathy had written and brought it to me. The note simply said:  Why was I born?

I hope that one day Kathy found the right environment, where a combination of  continual supervision and encouragement was available, to help her turn her life around. 

But this does illustrate why "humanitarian hiring" is possibly not the best option for smaller businesses.

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

She'll Definitely Start - One of These Days...

You may think that, by the time you offer someone a job and they accept, that they will begin to get their affairs in order, so they can start on time.When you manage a smaller company,  everybody counts and to have someone not show up as agreed can leave you scrambling.

This happened to me a few years ago. I had offered the job of Project Coordinator to someone we'll call Cathy. Cathy had seemed.very enthusiastic about the job during the interview - but, then again, so does just about everyone. We had agreed she would start on the first of the month following.

Three days before Cathy's start date, she phoned up and asked if she could start one day later, so she could finish up a project for her current employer.  Naturally, I felt quite put out about this but wasn't sure, legally, what my position should be. Could I simply withdraw the job offer? Could I tell her, either she started as agreed or she would forfeit the position? As I wasn't sure - and it was only one day - with some reluctance, I agreed.

While Cathy did show up on the second of month, I was right to have heard a lot warning bells ringing. For one thing, she had trouble meeting deadlines (no wonder she didn't have the project done on time at her former position).  For another, her concept of productivity was way out of line with what we needed in our environment. Not surprisingly, after about six weeks, I had to let her go. We were falling too far behind on too many client commitments.

To complicate matters, Cathy had been referred to the company by one of our existing staff, Ann. Although Ann had made no guarantees about Cathy's potential, she felt somewhat responsible for having made the suggestion. I told Ann not to bother herself about it.  She also had the uncomfortable experience of having to regularly meet with Cathy at yoga class. However, Ann later told me that Cathy seemd more embarrassed about the experience than Ann herself did.

What this suggests to other smaller employers or new entrepreneurs is that you need to know the law in terms of both offering jobs AND withdrawing them. Plus, sometimes, a small environment may not be the best environment for people to refer friends and relatives. In a large company, there will be a lot of distance between the person making the referral and the new hire, but in a smaller company, where everyone is on top of one another, it may be better to steer clear of referrals for key positions at your firm. 

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

A word about whistle-blowing

One of the topics I occasionally talk about in my book, Other People's Problems, is whistle-blowing and, more specifically, why you can't rely on your employees volunteering information to let you know what's going on when your back is turned.

At the same time, when employees do decide to share something, it often confirms your suspicions, if you have already had the smarts to listen to your gut reaction.

Several years ago, I hired someone we'll call Toni.  Toni had been through a number of workplace re-entry programs and similar, put on by the government and various community colleges.Supposedly, she wanted to get her career going after a period of unemployment.

She started on a Monday and, by Wednesday, I had pretty much made up my mind I would soon terminate her.  A lack of enthusiasm and low productivity suggested that she was not the person we were looking for. Funnily enough, it was on that same day that another of my staff came into my office and said: "I know I shouldn't say this but I'm going to say it", and proceeded to warn me that Toni was a time-bomb waiting to go off.

Apparently, she had told my other staff that, as soon as a big project showed up, she was going to phone in sick so she wouldn't have to work very hard.  Toni had also apparently told my existing employees of the other interview she had been on, how she felt the woman interviewing her there "was like a sister" and that she really wanted to go to work there.

What is interesting about this story is that Toni obviously felt thoroughly confident in telling her co-workers her true intentions, safe in the knowledge that most people won't indulge in whistle-blowing.This is what makes it doubly hard for an employer, especially for a small employer, to find out what's really going on and why all entrepreneurs who have expanded to the point of hiring staff need to keep up a constant effort in this regard.

Hidden agendas - Avoid this hiring trap

When you own and manage a company with five or fewer employees - or even 10 or 20 and fewer employees- you cannot afford to have any of your staff members bringing problems into your company.  There is nothing wrong with relying on "a few good people" but you need to have the entire team pulling its weight and committed to the enterprise.

This won't happen if you inadvertently hire someone who brings a problem into the workplace, which is the topic I explore in my book, Other People's Problems.

One of the topics I didn't explore in the book which I'm touching on here now, is the issue of hidden agendas, when someone presents as a candidate for employment, but knows their stay at your company will be short-term.  This can happen if someone is on strike or on a temporary layoff and knows, for example, that six months down the road, they will be going back to their original employer.

If you have short-term needs, this could be a win-win situation for everyone. But if you are hoping to hire someone who will be a permanent and long-term member of the team, you don't want to find you have invested heavily in training this person and getting them up to speed, only to find they quit on you, just as you get to the point you might get a return on your investment.

This is yet one more reason why you need to set aside plenty of time to interview, get the person talking, and find out what is going on behind-the-scenes. Make a point of checking out if the companies they have listed as past employers are on strike and, if the companies are still in business, for example, suspect that your potential employee may have plans at odds with yours.  The same is true of layoffs; you need to monitor the press and other sources in your community, to learn when there have been substantial layoffs at companies appearing on candidates' resumes.

This way, you will protect yourself and all the effort you have put in so far in building up your business.

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

To purchase either a hard copy or an e-book, go to:

http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/other_peoples_problems/9268001

If I'd only known then what I know now!

Most people who start their own business and then go on to hire people, are often stunned by all the trouble a single employee can sometimes bring into the workplace.

Because, most of the time, it is just one person who causes the problems. You may have 3 or 4 individuals working for you, all doing fine, and then, you hire a fifth - and before you know it, your company is in a tailspin, thanks to the antics of this single employee.

How many business owners look back, after such an episode, and say: If only I'd known then what I know now!

I've just written and published a book which I hope will get small business owners, but especially new business owners, up to speed on all the dimensions of safe hiring.

The book is called Other People's Problems: Why you need to go on interviewing your employees - after you hire them! and it's available both in print format and in a downloadable version. (Details at http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/other_peoples_problems/9268001.)

From time to time, I'll be posting "war stories" on my blog, both from my own experience and other people's. If you have one to share, send it to me. Full anonymity guaranteed if I share the tale.

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer
To reach the author go to www.deborahcsawyer.com/dcs_005.htm