Which employee would you fire *What finally happened*

Why can't I fire both? I really can't vote on this poll.

Have they both been written up? Generally, you need to document disciplinary measures to support a termination. Personally, I would fire Employee A before Employee B because her attitude makes her difficult to work with. On the other hand, it doesn't sound like there's anything to issue warnings about, unless she's ignoring clients to service the favorite. You're on better footing to fire Person B.

Now, if you're doing layoffs for economic reasons, then you don't need to worry about disciplinary issues. You just have to decide which employee brings more to the table. You make the decision from a dollars and cents position. Good luck.

Another vote for both.

I'd let both of them know that they're not performing to standards and put them both on notice.

I would have long since began managing them up or out. Plenty of documentation and coaching, but with the realization that chances are neither is going to get to where I need them to be.

Attitude makes a big difference... A positive and willing attitude you can build from... A negative attitude can only be changed by the person who has it, and that kind of change is rarely inspired by someone else asking for it... It sounds like you would have options with person B - talk to them about how to help them make sure they're on time, let them know the importance of showing consideration by acknowledging and apologizing for any lateness, that sort of thing... Setting up some sort of probation could work... Not sure the practicalities, but even something like having her call in at the start of day to confirm her shift/hours... If you don't hear from her, you can follow up (and at least some warning there may be a problem)... Offer to set her up with an app for her phone that syncs to her work computer or that you can send her schedule through to... I'd start by asking her why she's late... And things like slept in or miscalculated the commute aren't real reasons - they're how the problem shows up... Perhaps she's got an issue at home, anxiety, etc... Perhaps something as simple as having someone meet with her about time management or life coaching could be enough... She likely doesn't feel good about being late, so any effort you put in would mean a lot to her and you'd get huge returns on your investment in her...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There is little chance that employee A will change her ways.  I think there is hope for employee B. I would let employee A go.

I vote both.

I would start the disciplinary process with B. That's clear cut - your shift starts at XX:00, you arrived at XX:15. Document and address with disciplinary process. Either she fixes the problem or not. Clear cut.

A is harder. "Your coworkers hate you" generally isn't something you can fire for. So you have to watch a catch specific behaviors that violate policy or standards. Is teamwork a written expectation? You could document something like "On xx date you refused to assist Susie with _____ task. She completed it alone which resulted in (a quantifiable problem - missed deadline, lost profit, etc)".

Attitude generally isn't documentable. Find specific behaviors that do not meet requirements/policies and focus on those. Document, document, document. Don't let her bad attitude get you in hot water with HR.

I would fire person A if they have already had the proper warnings ...

Person B needs to be given a warning and put on probation ...

Honestly, both would go on notice and be written up. It sounds like the late comer is likely to get fired first if there's a policy in place about how many times you can be late or a no-show. 

I wouldn't want either on my team.

Be consistent, be as prompt as possible (although it's okay to be late occasionally - we don't sweat that at my office because we live in the land of crazy crap traffic), be polite, don't run your yap like a jerk, do your job well and we are GOOD.

Be late with frequency, have a pissy attitude, be unlikeable or unreliable and we have a problem.

Bad attitude would go first. Once their replacement is trained the lazy one would go.

IF my customers liked pissy attitude employee, she'd be put on probation. Late employee would also be put on probation. Both would be fired if they didn't comply with their probation outline.

But if I had to fire one today, it'd be Pissy Attitude Employee.

Unfortunately you don't provide enough info. Based on what there is, I would say person B would go. However, they shouldn't just be fired without trying to work with them. I would lay out expectations of what you want and stick to them. Have you ever talked with them about why they are late or miss shifts? Perhaps they need help to get organized and need to know what tools are available to help them get to work on time, or perhaps there are personal issues you don't know about. Does the company have an EAP that this person can get support from? As for person A, it sounds like they are meeting expectations of their job. If they aren't, like they should be spending more time with other clients then that is what you need to work on. Attitude is subjective. You need specifics to correct. Are they rude to clients on the phone? How so? Tone of voice or words? Document and discuss. Do they swear in the office? Document and discuss expectations of proper language.

Maybe their immediate supervisor should be managed if they can't address these problems as they occur. The staff members would have a good case against the organisation if the proper protocol has not been followed, and it's not their responsibility to manage themselves, given the description - so, there is always a wider perspective!