advice about letting a new employee go (during review period)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:thanks for the replies, everyone. i am, of course, giving her feedback. i've returned most of her assignments with comments and revised, re-submit deadlines. one of things that has me worried in particular is that not one assignment, and i've purposefully given her a wide variety, has come in at the level i was hoping for (and at the level that others in her position seem to have no trouble with). or i guess a better way of putting it, at a level that i can work with. this is a resource poor environment and i just don't have the time to both walk her through every little thing AND have to do her work myself because she is so slow at getting her assignments completed.

as a concrete example, but without going into specific detail about our work, we need folks in this role to have facility with the entire Microsoft suite of software at the intermediate level. in my experience, you can get someone from intermediate to advanced over time and without too much trouble. this person did not know how to insert a page number or center a title in Word. we do a fair bit of work in Excel, though nothing too too complex. still, she turned in a spreadsheet for a basic assignment (think three columns, where two must add to the third) where the calculations were done BY HAND outside of Excel with a calculator because she either doesn't know or doesn't realize how to use formulas.

this is the kind of thing that i just don't have time to work with. but she comes with a master's from a top tier school and a few years work experience.

HR bitch here: if you can, I'd meet with her tomorrow, give her the deadline of two Mondays from tomorrow or end of July, and as I said before specific goals she must meet to retain her position. One of which would be getting to an intermmediate/advanced level in all MS programs. It's on HER to figure out what that is specifically and to get there on her own non-work time. It just goes to show that brand name schools don't mean everything, you know?

Listen to this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok, someone who has a masters and previous work experience should know those microsoft office basics.
Signed,
Someone who went to a land grant institution for her masters and knows how to use excel and word

Why? I have always had an assistant to do those tasks. If I needed to, however, I am sure that I could easily learn how to do many of the tasks I have my assitant do.

[Anonymous]

Ok, someone who has a masters and previous work experience should know those microsoft office basics.
Signed,
Someone who went to a land grant institution for her masters and knows how to use excel and word


Why? I have always had an assistant to do those tasks. If I needed to, however, I am sure that I could easily learn how to do many of the tasks I have my assitant do.

Because these are basic job skills that everyone should have. And not all of us have assistants. And there is nothing more annoying than a highly educated person who doesn't know how to do these things and foists them on their assistants to fix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Ok, someone who has a masters and previous work experience should know those microsoft office basics.
Signed,
Someone who went to a land grant institution for her masters and knows how to use excel and word


Why? I have always had an assistant to do those tasks. If I needed to, however, I am sure that I could easily learn how to do many of the tasks I have my assitant do.

Because these are basic job skills that everyone should have. And not all of us have assistants. And there is nothing more annoying than a highly educated person who doesn't know how to do these things and foists them on their assistants to fix.

+1
I have trouble imagining how anyone who works in an office environment could not have basic to intermediate level Microsoft Office skills. The few times I haven't known how to do something (I'm probably in the intermediate to advanced category, except for Access) I google what I'm trying to do.

[Anonymous]

I have never heard of a Masters program in which you do not have to write papers......she sounds very unmotivated

[Anonymous]

I was feeling empathetic for your employee until last night I had my daughter maker her own birthday invitation in word. My daughter is 9 and did it herself. Unless she came from an underpriviledged background or is foreign there is really no excuse. How did she get through her master's.

[Anonymous]

Put her on performance review and come up its a plan. If she doesn't cut it in 3 months, let her go.
It's called PIP in large companies, often results in the person finding a new job anyhow.

[Anonymous]

Everyone should know word. Nt sure knowing excel is a fair expectation, but it seems like she could learn it.

[Anonymous]

I generally agree with the HR person but also wonder... you say you've given her a variety of things to do, but have you also given her a repeat or similar project to see if she does it better and faster the second time around? That would show you how quickly she can learn.

[Anonymous]

Something rings wrong about the degree part. I have a phd in the humanities and don't know Excel but how can you not know how to center a title in Word and have a master's degree? Did you confirm the degree with her institution?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
as a concrete example, but without going into specific detail about our work, we need folks in this role to have facility with the entire Microsoft suite of software at the intermediate level. in my experience, you can get someone from intermediate to advanced over time and without too much trouble. this person did not know how to insert a page number or center a title in Word. we do a fair bit of work in Excel, though nothing too too complex. still, she turned in a spreadsheet for a basic assignment (think three columns, where two must add to the third) where the calculations were done BY HAND outside of Excel with a calculator because she either doesn't know or doesn't realize how to use formulas.

this is the kind of thing that i just don't have time to work with. but she comes with a master's from a top tier school and a few years work experience.

This makes no sense. Even high school kids know that. They have to take a technology class, and I would be very surprised if some university would let someone graduate without this knowledge. Is the degree fake? I would phone the institution and find out.

Microsoft has online tutorials, there are also plenty youtube videos. Nobody needs to say they do not know

[Anonymous]

Well, some people truly aren't familiar or comfortable with basic Microsoft office applications. (read: Older folk)

We have a new admin who is smart as a whip and sharp and has a degree from a top college... from years ago. She raised her children and reentered the workforce.

She couldn't do anything on Word and has to be walked through every new software by an entry-level staffer. She is catching on, however. It has just been a time-suck for other people to educate her, as the supervisors do not want to spend money on classes.

[Anonymous]

some of you sound horrible to me--op if you have time to complain on an anonymous board--then you have time to teach--not everyone is as perfect a secreatary as you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, some people truly aren't familiar or comfortable with basic Microsoft office applications. (read: Older folk)

We have a new admin who is smart as a whip and sharp and has a degree from a top college... from years ago. She raised her children and reentered the workforce.

She couldn't do anything on Word and has to be walked through every new software by an entry-level staffer. She is catching on, however. It has just been a time-suck for other people to educate her, as the supervisors do not want to spend money on classes.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, some people truly aren't familiar or comfortable with basic Microsoft office applications. (read: Older folk)

We have a new admin who is smart as a whip and sharp and has a degree from a top college... from years ago. She raised her children and reentered the workforce.

She couldn't do anything on Word and has to be walked through every new software by an entry-level staffer. She is catching on, however. It has just been a time-suck for other people to educate her, as the supervisors do not want to spend money on classes.

You can learn that stuff online for free. If the college is reputable, then graduates have the ability to learn these things themselves, on their own