I don't want to sound like a complainer, but...

[redfathom]

At the end of January I had to have brain surgery and was out of work for nine weeks. Before I left we hired my assistants friend to help out temporarily as the receptionist. When I came back I found out that she was hired FT and my assistant was promoted to another department, no longer reporting to me.

 

My new assistant doesn't have any experience, she was basically a PBX operator at her last job and now has a new multitude of things to do. She barely know's Microsoft Office programs, she is very unorganized, constantly needs me to hold her hand, double check her work, micromanage her, etc.

 

I am going crazy. I am very busy and need her to do more of the office things while I focus on the CEO and COO I assist. But she is making this very difficult. She needs me to make the smallest descision for her, like when to call the AC people out for repairs. What to do about booking someones travel, should she book it, who should she confirm with, etc.

 

Even when I tell her, she asks questions to make sure that's what I want to do. Like when I say check with x on the travel to make sure the times are correct and check with x's manager to get approval on the cost, she will ask me again. "So should I book it?", Ummm...what did I just say, check for approval, if approved then book it.

 

Then we were waiting for customer approval for flights and she has asked me several times a day if she should book them. I then ask, has the customer approved, she says no, so I tell her, "you can't book it...".

 

Today I asked her how the travel was going, she said she is almost done with everyones. So I ask what the status is for each person. One person is almost booked, one person needs a hotel still, one person is on hold, the other person she is waiting for approval. So basically, no she is not almost done. Tuesday I booked three rooms at a hotel and now only one person is going, she asks me if she should call and cancel the other rooms...yep, you probrably should!

 

I asked her to do a cost comparison spreadsheet in Excel, she wanted to know what information I wanted. I said it was to compare costs between us booking travel and quotes from a travel agent, she said that sounded like a lot of work, to which I replies, well X (boss) wants this information so we have to do it.

 

So the next day I made the spreadsheet and called her to look at it, she said she made one with x (old assistant). It didn't have the info we needed nor was it formated professionally at all. Then she get's upset because she did one (that she never sent to me) but I did one, so she felt like she wasted her time. Actually she wasted both of our time.

 

So I ask her to send it to me and she says she will just use mine, I said, please send me yours I would like to see it...

 

Arrgggg. I asked her about vistor badges, she had three up front. I tell her she should get badges back from peope who checked them out and didn't return them. This was two days ago. She just called to let me know she is out and what she should do. I said, did you call those people to get their badges they borrowed, she said no. But that she wanted to check to see if I had them. Why would I have them!

 

I don't know what to do. I plan on having a meeting with her, but I really wonder if this is the right job for her.

 

When we move offices in two months I will have another assistant, and I can't spend all of my time on this one when I will have my job and two people to manage.

[quankanne]

are you responsible for a job performance review on this chick? I can see where if she's learning to swim in new water, she might be slow at first because she's not familiar with what she's doing. But (using rudimentary math), if she's been there three months and hasn't improved much, I think you'd be justified in saying that she's not a good fit for the job. Especially if you're having to double your work load in order to "get" the information you need from HER!

 

RE: the spreadsheets ... I'd have given you my copy and compared the two to see where I needed to improve and get an idea of what exactly you're looking for! It's not a bad thing to pull ideas that worked before, I know I do that when writing specific kinds of stories or bits for our paper because it's a tried and true way of knowing what is acceptable!

 

last question: Is she on any kind of probationary period? If not, can you say, "Six weeks from now we'll review to see if you've improved any, if not, we'll have to let you go"? Maybe that'll help get her butt on the ball!

 

BTW, how are you doing, post-surgery?

[redfathom]

I imagine everyone has a three to six month probationary period. I asked HR for her job description because I setup a meeting with her and want to review it. He said to check with my old assistant (her BFF), and she told me no, they never gave her anything outlining her job duties. And then proceeded to make excuses for her. This job really is not hard, booing travel, cleanign conference rooms, scheduling vendors, all thing I consider to be commonsense, since most of these things are done in everyday life.

 

Explaining that she is new, etc. But she has been doing all of this stuff for two months and been here three months, that is a slow learning curve, imo.

 

I expected her to make an effort on the spreadsheet and try to make it look nice and try to even look online on how to do certain functions. All MS programs have a help document, I have learned everything in MS by doing and researching online. I would have liked to have seen some initiative.

 

It's not only that she is not a good fit, but I am responsible for her performance, the office, etc, and I never hired her for this job.

 

Her BFF was trying to say that she just needs me to spend more time with her, but that is time I don't have and wouldn't have to spend if she was qualified for the job.

 

I don't know if I even see any potential in her and when I came back from surgery even her BFF said she was concerned about her being able to do this job.

 

My surgery, thus far has been good. I still have some limitations and really need to avoid stress, which there has been plenty off. But I am glad I did and I have a follow up appointment in about a month which I am excited about.

[quankanne]

can you, as her superior, write up an explicit description of her job duties (with possibly even a checklist on how to do them) and review them with her so that SHE understands what her responsibilities are and how she is to execute them, and that YOU have something to cover your butt with when it comes time to keeping her or canning her? Might also save you a bit of aggravation in the end ... either she'll clean up her act or she'll plainly show others she just cannot do the job.

[redfathom]

She was given something when she started, I printed it for our meeting today to go over it with her again and to make sure it's clear. I will also see if she has any suggestions on how to do these things, or what else needs to be done. I like working as a team on these types of things, but I want to also make it clear that she needs to make improvements.

[Trialbyfire]

Don't fuss and stress yourself out. Assert yourself. Just tell HR that this is your assistant, therefore, you need someone more qualified, end of story.

 

I'm under the assumption she's on a probationary period as a new hire. If she's not on probation, your HR department should be fired.

[redfathom]

Haha, well our HR Director, kind of has a thing for 20 something girls or maybe just receptionists (because everyone we have had he befriends and stick's up for). So going to him with anything would be pointless and only get back to her and I don't want to damage our work relationship of she ends up staying.

 

It look me months to get the first admin I had who i was sure was smoking pot in the parking lot. She also missed at least one day a week for "illness" some people suggested she was just always hung over...

 

Anyways it wasn't until her attendance was really bad that we let her go.

[Trialbyfire]

Regardless of your HR director's lecherous tastes, it's time to take a stand, if she's incompetent. The more control you take of a situation, the more respect you're going to garner. The more you hedge and flip-flop due to fear of causing waves, when there's a good reason for your stand, the less people will take you seriously. Just pick your battles where competent employees should be one of your battles.

[redfathom]

Well, I had my meeting with her. This is pretty much how it went:

 

Me: "I have been noticing that the printer area's and conference rooms have not be kept clean"

 

Her: "Well, that's because people are having meetings and then I am busy."

 

Me: "I understand, so you should check the schedule and go in there when there is a break between meetings."

 

Her: "Well, I try, but I get busy."

 

Me: "Yes, but I am busy and I have no problems getting in there to straightening things up. It should only take you 10 seconds. I suggest you go to the printer clean it off, straighten up the supply closet, then clean the conference rooms, this should take no more then 1 minute."

 

Her: "Okay, I will try."

 

Other topic, suggestion:

 

Me: "It's great to multitask, so when you go to the printer to get something, or fax a document while you are waiting just straighten things up for 10 seconds."

 

She seemed defensive and wanting to give excuses. I told her that management (my bosses) don't like excuses. When they see a dirty conference room that's all they see because they don't know your schedule.

 

Her response was 1. she was not trained 2. she is getting used to me as her manager 3. she is very busy this week.

 

I said, well I was taking it easy on you until this week and doing a lot of stuff myself. I told her that she needed to get used to be busy and learn how to organize her schedule. I suggested doing a things to d list in her Outlook calendar, that is what I do before I leave every night, she told me she was too busy...

 

I said, well in the end it will save you time from having to rememebr, just out it on your schedule when tasked, or do it right away...

[Trialbyfire]

redfathom, do you mind if I critique your meeting? If not, I will understand.

[redfathom]

Oh, no please do...I would like opinions. I am terrible at this kind of stuff.

[redfathom]

I did let her know that she started with this postion figured out and processes in place and that tomorrow I want to meet with her to get suggestions on how she would do things differently. I don't want to be a micromanager, but I do find that with all of my assistants it's be hard to get them to complete tasks in a timely manner, so I know I need to change my approach.

[Trialbyfire]

Well, I had my meeting with her. This is pretty much how it went:

 

Me: "I have been noticing that the printer area's and conference rooms have not be kept clean"

 

Her: "Well, that's because people are having meetings and then I am busy."

Here's where I would have cut her off with something like this.

 

"Please consider it one of your priorities. Thanks. :)"

 

And walked off.

 

Then I would have documented it so the next time, you have a base to leverage off of. You don't need to train her to multi-task. That's either a skill people possess or not.

 

Also, don't bring up your bosses. You're her boss, so she answers to your requirements.

[redfathom]

So I was being too nice . Sounds like me...

 

Weird thing this morning, I got an e-mail from another co-worker telling me how great my assistant was helping her on a project and wanted to let me know that for her review. What's weird is: This co-worker has never done that before for any of my other assistants, and reviews have been turned in weeks ago.

 

It's odd that it comes the same day I had my talk with my assistant. My guess is my assistant told her about our meeting and this person wants to protect her.

[anne1707]

Whilst I think you were too easy on your assistant, I think TBF's approach is too far the other way. If I had a boss who treated me like that I would just think they were rude and arrogant to be honest.

 

However you should not tolerate your assistant's excuses. Be firm. Explain what is expected of her in a polite, reasonable manner. Ask her if she understands what you are asking of her and why. She then has no excuse in future.

[redfathom]

I have to cover the front for her when she goes to lunch, at was 5 minutes late getting up there today, this is what she said, all in a joking fashion, but I think it was passive aggresive:

 

Here: "There you are!"

 

Me: "Yep, I got stuck in traffic."

 

Her: "Well, it's not like I'm hungry."

 

Me: "Well, next time you're late from lunch maybe I will be understanding, or maybe I won't"

 

That pretty much shut her up...

 

Do you think I should address this situation further, or let is pass. It almost, very slightly feels like insubordination (in a way)...?

[quankanne]

it IS insubordination ... ditzy office chick has all these nice people sticking up for her when mean ol' RF comes barrelling through the office.

 

again (esp. since she can't tell her butt from a hole in the ground) I would suggest that YOU give her an explicit outline of her job duties, and let her know that you will give no quarter, and that from here on out, her performance will be based on how well she exceeds this list of things. Period.

 

I don't think that's being mean, but rather, helping a dizzy kid figure out what exactly it is your office needs, and that she cannot expect to flit around doing whatever the hell she *thinks* passes for work and be commended for it!

 

remember, not only does her ineptitude drive you nuts, it's a bad reflection on the company as a whole, esp. if her other superiors are seeing what a poor job she's doing. The bad thing is that if you don't get her to clean up her act, it's YOUR butt that'll get chewed out.

 

HR guy sounds like another inept employee who is easily swayed by a pretty face

[Trialbyfire]

Now do you understand why I suggested you cut her off at the pass? I've had enough employees like this. The more you fuss and give her leeway, the further she's going to take it.

 

Enough with her issues, take charge in an assertive but civil manner. Don't get caught up in a sniping war. Just shut her down and if that's not possible, get HR to find a replacement while she's still in the probationary period. Life's too short to waste on incompetent and difficult junior staff.

[anne1707]

Just to add to Quankanne's post, when you give her those clear instructions of what is expected, give clear and reasonable timescales for her to improve her performance. Also establish whether she needs any training. If she has all the training she needs and still does not achieve the appropriate standard of performance by agreed deadlines then take things to the next level under some form of disciplinary procedure. A key thing is to make sure everything is documented, e.g. getting her to sign some form of agreed action plan.

 

You have to make sure that you can be seen to have handled this situation in a professional manner. Take to hard a line and you could find her putting in complaint against you or, worst case, have a constructive dismissal case being thrown at your company. You do not want to be seen as a bullying boss.

[Star Gazer]

Here's where I would have cut her off with something like this.

 

"Please consider it one of your priorities. Thanks. :)"

 

And walked off.

 

Then I would have documented it so the next time, you have a base to leverage off of. You don't need to train her to multi-task. That's either a skill people possess or not.

 

BRILLIANT! I would have (and have) done the same exact thing.

 

Another example: When my assistant has made a mistake, and she whines and complains about why it happens, I've simply and calmly said, "Mistakes like this are unacceptable." If she whines that she didn't know better, I say, "Do you need additional training? On what task?"

 

Short, and to the point. The onus is on her to do her job right, multitask, and ask for assistance. It's not up to me.

 

I have to cover the front for her when she goes to lunch, at was 5 minutes late getting up there today, this is what she said, all in a joking fashion, but I think it was passive aggresive:

 

Here: "There you are!"

 

Me: "Yep, I got stuck in traffic."

 

Her: "Well, it's not like I'm hungry."

 

Me: "Well, next time you're late from lunch maybe I will be understanding, or maybe I won't"

 

That pretty much shut her up...

 

Do you think I should address this situation further, or let is pass. It almost, very slightly feels like insubordination (in a way)...?

 

Yes, that's insubordination IMO, particularly for such a new employee who doesn't understand your humor.

 

I would have responded like this:

 

Her: "There you are!"

 

Me: "Here I am."

 

Her: "Well, it's not like I'm hungry."

 

Me: "You report to me, not the other way around." (Yes, harsh... but I would have said it in the same half-joking tone she did.)

 

And then I would have walked off.

[redfathom]

I told my boss about her comment and he said I should nip that in the bud. I told him I don't appreciate being harrassed by my subordinate.

 

So today we met for our daily action items and again, they were not updated, even though I told her yesterday this was a priority.

 

So I had her tell me what she has been working on today and how long it's taken her. The total amount of time was four hours our of 7 available today. So let's assume other things come up that could take an hour, that's still two hours of unaccounted for time, yet she didn't have time to update her action items to meet with me...

 

Arrrggg, I am putting together documentation of everything so I can share it with my boss.

[spookie]

Wow. I am glad some of you guys aren't my boss.

 

Maybe she's respond better if she felt like you guys were more of a team?

[BlueEyedGirl]

TBF and SG, jesus. If either of you were my bosses and treated me the way you describe, I would file a complaint right away. If nothing else, it would waste some of your time. I got one of my former bosses demoted this way, so careful. Little compassion goes a long way - being a bully is not likely to get the most out of your staff.

[BlueEyedGirl]

I have to cover the front for her when she goes to lunch, at was 5 minutes late getting up there today, this is what she said, all in a joking fashion, but I think it was passive aggresive:

 

Here: "There you are!"

 

Me: "Yep, I got stuck in traffic."

 

Her: "Well, it's not like I'm hungry."

 

Me: "Well, next time you're late from lunch maybe I will be understanding, or maybe I won't"

 

That pretty much shut her up...

 

Do you think I should address this situation further, or let is pass. It almost, very slightly feels like insubordination (in a way)...?

 

Insubordination? You are making a WAY too big of a deal out of this. What she said was kind of funny. If you only knew how I speak to my current boss...

So you actually have it good.

[Ariadne]

redfathom,

 

Here is the situation.

 

You want the perfect secretary.

 

Someone that takes charge, takes care of all the bookings, pronto, does all the documents professionally and on time, and everything is spotless at all times.

 

On the other hand, this girl doesn't want "anything to do with your job".