August 2023 Volume 5

OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT

My Employee Can’t or Won’t Do Her Job and I Need To Make a Change – Why Is It

So Complicated? By Johanna Fabrizio-Parker

Have you experienced the following scenario (or a version of it)? You are a manager. One of your employees, “Peggy Sue,” has long been a challenge to you. She misses deadlines – so much so that you have stopped giving her important projects. She does not turn on her camera for video meetings and you are tired of addressing it, so you just let it go. She cannot seem to do what you think of as the most basic tasks correctly – so much so that you end up doing it yourself and have just stopped assigning these tasks to her. Given the number of issues with her work and corresponding time you need to dedicate to her, you have really limited her duties to a small portion of what she is supposed to be doing. All this has happened over months (or even longer) and was incremental but, still, here you are. And now, you recognize that this is just not sustainable. You cannot do her job and your job. It is not fair to you, your other employees, or your employer. So, you go to Human Resources, and you share all these details – thinking that relief is near, and you can make a change. You make your case and expect them to agree that, yes, Peggy Sue is not doing her job and cannot continue in her role. Instead, you hear: “What have you told her?” Many – if not most – issues concerning employee discipline and/ or separation ultimately involve performance management. Now, that term sounds formal, and it certainly can be. Some companies have a process they follow, such as an initial counseling, and if there are continued performance issues, a documented performance improvement plan (PIP). While these certainly can be helpful tools, the formal steps are not “required” for performance management. What is “best practice” is to have some consistent process and record that you raised the issues with the employee – and not just in the annual review.

Too often, a manager gets in the position described above. And not because he or she is trying to avoid duties or not to help Peggy Sue. Rather, the manager is dealing with hundreds (or more) of work issues every day, and the non-performing employee can fall to the bottom of the list until the situation just becomes untenable. Then, the manager wants/needs some immediate action (likely someone new in the role). Now, I’m sure some of you are thinking, so what’s the issue? This is employment at-will so I can separate from anyone at any time, and I don’t need a reason. Or, I have a reason; an employee’s not doing her job is certainly a legitimate, non discriminatory reason for termination. While both reactions are true, they don’t necessarily consider the whole situation. Yes, employment at-will means there is no guarantee of continuing employment. But what if Peggy Sue challenges the decision? What if she says she was terminated because I am the only woman on the team? Or it is because I asked for leave due to my medical condition? Or something like this? The employer then would need to offer some explanation for the action, and this is where you would talk about all the issues with Peggy Sue. But this is not the end of the story. Peggy Sue could then try to say – that’s just not true or it’s what we call “pretext” for some unlawful action (e.g., discrimination). And she likely would point out that her manager never told her any of this or had told her long ago and never mentioned it again, so she thought it had been resolved. She also may say that she was performing – albeit in the modified (limited) job – but again she was doing what you assigned to her and (arguably) never was told that the assignment shifted because of her performance.

FIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2023 30