Dear Evil HR Lady,
I recently fired an employee that was not showing up to work and when they did show up, they mostly avoided work. Now my decision is whether or not to fill the position. Our department is fairly small, 9 people with 5 assigned information technology service calls and projects. Of the four team members still here, all work well together and like to be challenged to do new things. When the other person was here, they helped a little bit but didn’t really make a difference in workload.
Our workload is steady and mostly busy. Revenues have been down, but the workload hasn’t changed too much, in fact we have more business changes and improvements to deal with now than when revenues where higher.
I have noticed more collaboration since the 5th started to slack off from their duties. However, I am a little worried that we may become a little burned out if we increase the workload on a constant basis. Should I hire someone or not? Any suggestions?
To read the answer click here: Should I Fill a Vacant Position?
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11 comments:
I'm curious, why you recommend talking to the team at once, rather than 1-on-1 conversations?
I have no objections to talking with the team members individually, but since the team is functioning well, it seems like it's unnecessary.
And I also assume (probably wrongly) that a good manager would be having regular 1:1 chats with his team.
FYI, there's a weird URL randomly inserted in a sentence... "all work well together and like to be challenged to do new thinhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifgs..."
JoAnna,
Thanks! I obviously hadn't noticed that. I fixed it.
I noticed it wasn't discussed...if the manager decides not to hire and the team takes on additional responsibility they will probably expect or hope for raises. It's nice to consider they may enjoy working as they are and have no problems taking on additional workload but likely a few raises here and there is still cheaper than a whole extra salary and will go a long ways towards reducing burnout.
fautech--excellent idea. Raises do help in those situations. They really do!
No wonder the US economy is in the tank HR indecision. Do you contact your 10 friends about what to where in the morning and eat for lunch? HR is a joke.
Where is the HR indecision, Anonymous? This is an example of HR providing direction for a department manager or frontline supervisor. But thanks for playing anyway...
Yes! Ask them! I worked on a team of 3 in a department of 5 and when the two other people on my team left within a week of each other, my boss asked what I thought about department structure and responsibility distribution. It opened up a big job change for me with a new title, responsibilities and a raise. An entry level job that was not very challenging turned into a job that is shaping my career.
How about a part time person who can work more hours when the workload requires and the rest of the time can work a reduced hour schedule. Or add flex time or a compressed work week. Give the group more flexibility as a thank you for working more. From you helpful HR person.
Hi Suzanne,
Here is an interesting article on a study on possible discrimination in the workplace, entitled, "It Pays To Be Fat." http://bigthink.com/ideas/39650
It is an issue you have touched on before, so you I thought you it might interest you.
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