He’s always late but I’m over a barrel

Hi Aunty B,

An interesting one (please keep me anonymous of course).

I have just joined a business two months ago and one of the guys I manage turns up late all the time.

At first it was 9am, then 9.30am and now it’s 10am. Others have started to mutter about his lack of presence. He stands out in the office as the king of poor timekeeping.

When he actually turns up he is good at his (albeit menial) job and reliable.

The problem is he is obviously someone I have inherited in the job – and even more problematic, he is actually a really critical person within the business. If he left between now and Christmas we would be in trouble to some degree operationally. It’s not a good position to be in (reliant on one guy), even during the quiet times.

As we are a retail operation, Christmas is the busy period and I am concerned that if I pressure this guy, it’s going to have the opposite affect – he knows how “important” he is and this frustrates the hell out of me.

My current thinking is to wait until the rush period is over and then tighten the screws on him then. At the same time it is beyond a joke and it’s not fair on anyone else.

What do you think?

Thanks
Anonymous John

Dear Anonymous John,

Hang on for a second. He has a menial job and you think you can’t replace him? Look, we always think the world is going to end when a staff member leaves. But it doesn’t. And mostly you look back and realise the job description had changed while the person was employed and when they leave it presents you with a new opportunity to get someone in who is better!

Here is what you must do. You must follow the new Fair Work checklist and prepare to sack him. Tell him if he wants to keep coming in late he should consider moving on and finding a job where the hours suit him better. The type of personality you describe, who keeps raising the ante, is actually in a power game with you. If you act professionally and quickly you will nip this in the bud.

If you don’t, you risk losing face in front of your staff.

Meanwhile, put an ad on some job boards and start to comb through applications. You can’t afford not to have someone step into his role if he decides to walk.

Once you have followed the checklist – and I assume you are a small business – and he keeps coming in late, sack him. It is very important for your hard working staff to see you will not tolerate behaviour that affects all of them.

And if you have to march him out the door you will be surprised at the relief and support your existing staff will show if he is acting like that towards you, the bad behaviour will be coming out in other ways too.

So be a leader and act quickly and decisively.

Good luck,
Your Aunty B

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