Employee sticks with small business from the beginning, boss considers firing her for not evolving: 'She's not bad, but she's slow'

2 weeks ago 27

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  • Two women lean over a desk and look at a laptop together, surrounded by boxes and racks of clothes

    Two women lean over a desk and look at a laptop together, surrounded by boxes and racks of clothes

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • In this story, a small business owner had changed their opinion on an employee who had stuck with them from the very start. She had helped them to build the business when it was a lot of hard work for not a lot of pay, but now they were not satisfied that she was still able to do what they wanted her to do in the role.

    They believed that they had hinted at this with her and seen no improvement, and they saw their next step as firing her from the business permanently. They were unsure about their decision.

  • Am I wrong for firing someone who stayed when my business had nothing?

    I run a small business I started around 4 years ago. In the beginning it was just 4 of us including me and she was one of my first hires. She stayed when we were new. Low pay, long hours, no structure. I've always respected that and as the

  • business grew, I made sure her salary grew too. Right now she's one of the highest paid people on my team because she's been here from the start.

  • We're still a small team (about 15 people now) but we're growing and taking on bigger clients. Expectations have changed a lot.

  • The problem is her performance hasn't really grown with it. She's not bad but she's consistently slow, misses deadlines and struggles with newer tools. I often have to reassign things last minute. Like we recently subscribed to a new tool where all our client data is stored. She was responsible for it. It took her almost a month to get

  • Cheezburger Image 10629175040

    Two women sit beside one another, holding their faces in their hands in front of a laptop with a clothes rack in the background

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • somewhat comfortable with it and then she said the tool is too complicated and we should replace it. Out of concern, I gave the same tool to one of my interns and they started actively working on it within 3 days. Now that honestly worried me.

  • This wasn't sudden. I've been noticing this gap for a while. About 6 months ago, I even had a one-on-one with her and asked indirectly, while respecting boundaries, if something was bothering her or affecting her focus. I even offered her a paid week off if she needed it. She said everything was fine.

  • After that, I still gave it time. I reduced her workload so she could improve and gave regular feedback. There was some effort but not enough to match what the role now needs.

  • At the start of this month, I finally called her in and told her I'd have to put her on notice period because we're restructuring and I need someone who can handle the current pace. She was upset. She said she stayed when the company was nothing, trusted me, and now that things are stable I'm replacing her. I agreed to her but felt helpless.

  • I offered to extend her notice period by another month if she needs more time to find a new job. I myself am new into this and first time being a boss. May be I could have handled it better? From a business point of view, I feel like | gave enough chances. But on a personal level, it feels like I'm being disloyal to someone who was there from day one.

  • A woman leans over a laptop while another one puts something in a cardboard box beside her

    A woman leans over a laptop while another one puts something in a cardboard box beside her

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • absolute Al1958 she was loyal to you, let her stay at a lower responsible job and a slight pay cut, if she refuses, it's on her

  • MischiefModerated I would just find her another position that's much easier for her and find someone else to be in her previous role. I wouldn't say you're the AH. Just because I've seen someone who was kept simply for loyalty and they

  • basically kept causing other people repeated problems because they had to fix that persons mistakes. Granted they kept butting into every situation even when they were demoted. It doesn't sound like she would be that type of person though. So staying not be a bad idea if you can find a place for her. Maybe

  • make her your personal assistant or put them at reception and say "it's important to me my longest employee is in a role to represent us..." or skip saying anything like that. Or maybe "I really value you for being with us for so long, but it seems that keeping up with new systems and softwares isn't a great match, I'd love to put you in (this role) where I think you'll be set up for success"

  • Vallinen I mean, did you tell her that she needed to perform better before going to 'ah well, firing you i guess'? Loyal employees are harder to find than well performing employees. You could probably have found other tasks that suit her better, but eh. It is what it is.

  • wannaBuildASnowplow Firing her would be a hole But if it is true she can't handle her role, it is ok to restructure. Like offer another position

  • Abyssal_Aasimar117 YTA. And employers wonder why nobody wants to bend over backwards for them. Can't wait to see the young ones jump ship too when you don't meet their expectations and wants.

  • wacky_spaz YTA I'm a brutal no nonsense person in general but someone that stood by you, worked for peanuts, put her life and soul into it and now she's replaced. You are no better than the man who gets rich and gets a younger prettier wife. You're growing, you're expanding

  • and you can easily afford to be a human instead of a POS. Not everyone is lucky to get rich but when you had almost no one you had her. If you end up with nothing, you will regret this deeply. You will regret this either way. Make it right!

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