Georgia & Faye: when employees don’t get along
Faye is an established employee who is not working well with Georgia, the new and younger employee.
Georgia started today as our office trainee. She's bright and bubbly and her referees were really strong. She is here to work with Faye, the office manager, who has been with us since we set the company up 30 years ago.
Things have been picking up with the business and you've told Faye that she needs extra help in the office. You've asked her to make sure she trains Georgia up well.
Why is Georgia & Faye's
story important?
It is really important to talk to your existing staff to discus why you want to put on new staff.
Having the team onboard and understanding why and how changes will be made especially when it comes to hiring new staff can be the difference between a smooth transition and one that is fraught with uncertainty, conflict or competition.
Systems should not be built around the style of one person.
This can place the business at risk while also putting the one person under undue stress and responsibility. It makes it difficult to change and improve systems if it is solely reliant on how one particular person works.
Documentation is key.
Document all the company systems and processes so that new people coming in can work out how to do the tasks. You can also outline processes for when difficult situations arise so that the whole team is aware of how problems are handled by everyone in the team. This can prevent issues taken into individuals hands especially in small businesses with few employees.
Investing in inducting and training new staff properly from the beginning pays off
Employees are clear about what is expected in their job and the company processes. Having a clear and documented process of how different areas of the business runs makes the workplace fair for everyone.
And, it's never too late to pause and take a look at how your systems are running.
Even if you've hit a few hurdles, you can always stop, have a discussion and engage external help if needed to get things back on track.
What can you do?
Ensure job roles are clearly outlined.
Discuss expectations in person and review how you share the importance of an inclusivity to new workers.
See our Pre-employment resources when looking for a new employee.
Develop and implement an Induction and Onboarding Procedure for the company;
Make sure the policy you have and the values you want for your business are part of your induction process for new employees. Review how you share the importance of an inclusivity to new workers.
See:
Check in with employees periodically.
Make sure you check in with employees so you can be aware of problems that may develop slowly over time. This can be with professional development or conflicts between employees.
See our:
- Supervision Meeting (template)
- Probationary Progress Review Form (template)
- Performance Improvement Plan (template)
- Performance Review (template)
Ensure you have a clear Discrimination and Bullying policy at your workplace.
Policy and training makes it clear to your workplace what is acceptable behaviour and why it is unacceptable to discriminate against someone.
If you already have a policy, it is worth reviewing and refreshing with your workers.
See relevant policy documents you can implement at your workplace here:
If a situation results in an employee exiting the workplace, it's important for both parties to understand why.
Use our Exit interview template
Also see:
- Resignation Acceptance Letter (template)
- Termination Letter in Probation (template)