Real-Life Decision Making
One of the toughest roles an office manager must play is that of hirer
and firer. The hiring process is time-consuming and expensive. You have to
review resumes, conduct interviews and verify references. Depending on the
position, the hiring process can take up anywhere from a day to two weeks.
"Often you call applicants in for a second or even third interview," says
Lorna Zahn, an office manager at a small telecommunications company. "This
means you may get behind in your other duties. Then you have to train the
successful applicant. All this costs time and money."
It's extremely important to be a good judge of character and select
the right applicant. If things don't work out, you have to go through
the whole process again.
You've been working for a small telecommunications company for 10
years and you've learned the ropes from the bottom up. You started as
a mail clerk before you were promoted to front office sales and eventually
to office manager. Along with your many administrative duties, you supervise
a staff of 10, including a receptionist, a payroll clerk, an accounts payable
clerk, an accounts receivable clerk, an account supervisor, a mail clerk and
four technicians. The company employs eight salespeople who work under the
supervision of the sales manager.
Over the years you've developed an excellent working relationship
with the three owners, as well as all the sales staff and technicians. The
company promotes a family atmosphere and every year there's a company
golf tournament, a summer barbecue and a great Christmas party.
At the company barbecue a couple of months ago, one of the bosses told
you he'd like to give his 19-year-old son a summer job. He tells you
the young man has completed one year of business college and will be returning
to school in September to finish his diploma in business administration. You're
always extra busy during the summer months and were planning to hire a student
anyway. This saves you interviewing potential employees, which can be very
time-consuming.
Two months have passed and, were he anyone but the boss's son, you'd
have fired him by now. He's consistently late for work, takes extended
lunch hours and seems incapable of following the simplest of instructions.
Part of his job is to sort the incoming mail and deliver it to the appropriate
department. He's also in charge of filing, relieving the receptionist
over her lunch break and sorting and putting the outgoing mail through the
postage meter. Since he's been at the job, you've had a great deal
of mail returned by the post office for insufficient postage and the salespeople
are complaining that they can't find their clients' files.
The sales manager comes to see you in your office. He tells you his staff
is in an uproar because the filing system is in shambles. They feel the young
man is taking advantage of the fact that his father is the boss. He's
not doing the job he was hired to and they want him fired. He's part
of your staff and so firing him is your job.
What would you do?