Jenny has been a secretary in
your office for seven years. The atmosphere in the office is relaxed and
friendly, and staff often refer to it as one big family. Everyone gets along
and seems to like each other. Over the last year, though, you have noticed
that Jenny spends a lot of time taking personal calls on her cell phone, and
chatting with clientele and the other secretary about non-work subjects. The
other two managers have both complained to you that they think it’s
beginning to interfere with the productivity of the office.
Jenny has received an overall
performance rating of “Exceeds Expectations” over the past three years.
Jenny is sometimes overly sensitive, so you are not sure how she will react
to your addressing the situation.
As Jenny’s manager, how should
you handle this situation?
 |
Meet with
the other managers to get specifics on the effect Jenny’s talkative
behavior is having on the office needs. Evaluate the specifics to
determine expectations to be discussed with Jenny. |
|
Meet with
Jenny and begin the discussion about her behavior: |
|
Remind Jenny that she is a
valued member of the team. |
|
Point out that you don’t
want to be a micromanager and that you trust employees to balance
personal and work time. |
|
State that when personal
time at work begins to interfere with productivity of the office, it
must be addressed. |
|
Provide specific examples of
how Jenny’s behavior has impacted productivity. |
|
Establish performance
expectations. |
|
Discuss any underlying
issues as to why the behavior is occurring, such as too little workload,
not enough challenges, etc. |
|
Let Jenny know that you will
trust her to use her judgment to correct the situation on her own at
this point, and reiterate your confidence in her performance. Reinforce
that Jenny has always been an above-average performer and that you are
certain this recent issue will be corrected. |
