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Terminating a Trusted Employee

Concerned about whether an employee is fit for a job? Sometimes your gut knows best

By Anonymous

Page 3

While this may not have been a clue by itself, coupled with his inability to adequately document his investigations and interviews, I began to get frustrated.

Wake Up and Smell the Red Flags

Finally, I started to heed the warning signs.

Steve's position required him to audit at least two stores a week in his region. After excluding the stores within an hour's drive of his home, Steve needed to be away from home at least three nights every week to conduct the audits as directed. However, he coached a number of his children's sports teams. As anyone who's ever coached a team knows, it usually involves at least one day a week of practice, plus the game or games.

Where was he finding the time to carry out his job?

It gets better. On two occasions in the last nine months or so that Steve worked for us, I reached him by phone as he was transporting one of his children to a scheduled doctor's appointment during the work day. Steve's wife, who worked out of their house, was home on both occasions.

I purposely did not address the issues at the time, as I didn't want to seem sexist by implying that Steve's wife should be the person taking the child to the doctor.

Last May, Steve and I met at his office for a review of his completed audits. It was a good meeting. We went to dinner together and I left town early the next morning.

Upon returning to my office the following Monday, I noticed that Steve had failed to send me his activity report on the preceding Friday, a standard requirement. I fired off a quick e-mail to him asking that he send it. Given the different time zones we were in, I didn't expect an immediate reply and then forgot about it until we joined up later that morning for a conference call.

Not wanting to embarrass him on the phone, I asked him if he had seen my e-mail message; he said yes. I then said something to the effect of, "Then, get with it." And, let it go at that.

Our conference call lasted less than an hour; by 2 o'clock that afternoon I still hadn't received his report. By this time, my blood was beginning to boil. So, I called his office number and left a message, telling him once again to send the report.

The following day, I sent Steve another e-mail, indicating that I had yet to receive his activity report; I told him to call me, which he did. I knew better than to have an extended conversation with him at that point. I asked that he send me an e-mail outlining his daily activity over the past week within the hour. When I received it, it was so self-serving and suspect that I sent him a reply requesting a more detailed report again within the hour.