I have 2 employees and must let one of them go and the end of the year. Which one should I keep?

Question

The first is a full time employee, She is older than the other employee so she has more experence than the other. My problem with her is she complains about anything and everything and my other employees are tired of it. Plus she is not learning at the rate at which I previously thought she would.

The second is only part time and much younger, plus they're not as experienced, but they show great promise. My problem with him is they sometimes act childish and like to pull pranks and such.

Both are very hard workers, so this will not be an easy decision when the time comes to make it.

I would like to add that if it was truely my decision I'd keep them both as they are both good hard workers. Upper management is forcing my hand and it stinks. Unfortunatly it is a decision I will have to make on my own none the less. Ultimately I will have to look at all aspects of both employees and choose who I think is best suited for the job.

Answer 1

First, if you are interested in there well been, then you can check with other business that may be interested in hiring one of them.

then you can talk to them about your need to restructure your business.

the younger employee may have a better opportunity to be rehired.

having someone complaining about everything, it is a problem that good supervision should be able to solve.

also, a childish attitude can be corrected by a clear definition of your interoffice policies.



do an objective evaluation of there performance base on there job description. Knowledge experience, skills, capacity to work as a team (f required). goal with in the company, capacity to work alone, capacity to delegate, capacity to solve problems (look for help when needed)

good luck

Answer 2

Talk to both of them separately. Tell the older employee that you do not like her constant complaints and that you need her to learn the new processes quickly. Tell the younger employee that his childish behavior and office pranks are not appreciated. Make sure the younger employee is interested in a full time job.

Tell them both that you will be forced to let one of them go at the end of the year. Therefore, you will be watching each of them to see if they can meet your needs and correct the current problems.

Hopefully, they will both improve. If that happens, then choose the employee with seniority. Keep in mind that terminating the older employee who does improve could be grounds for a law suit under the Age Discrimination Laws. By counseling the employees now, you will have some legal documentation that the older employee was chosen because s/he could not meet job requirements.

Answer 3

I agree with the second answer. Keep the older one. She has more experience and likely, if you work with her on the issues, she will be able to correct them.

That said, I personally would consider the fact that the older employee is going to have a much tougher time in the job market starting from scratch than the younger one. And since you are on the fence about it, this would be my deciding factor. That and longevity. If she has been there a long time, she should have seniority...physically and literally...over the younger.

Answer 4

My suggestion is just to let the one go who was hired last. You want to be careful to have reason that you are getting rid of one over the other. If you do want to choose the best employee over the one who has been there longest I would choose the second one as long as they were willing to come on full time if you need it. You can train a childish employees most times and it will take a lot less hours of your time then trying to teach an employee that does not catch on.

Answer 5

Flip a coin?

As much as I hate to say this since I fall into that "older" category, keep the younger employee. If all the complaining is irritating, that would tip the scales for me.

Answer 6

Keep the younger and apply your message that it's imperative that he/she learns that it's a place of business and professionalism is a prerequisite if, they have any intention of getting a raise or a promotion. You, as an individual should have employee meetings about leadership and values in the workplace. Reward accomplishments.

Answer 7

get rid of the full time employee u need to give more young people more oppurtunity's she has had already hers so let her go and by the way youll be saving more $ if u do. Give the young people the chance and experience of a working environment and eventually they will grow more mature when they realize the responsibiliy's they have.

Answer 8

I hate complainers. Bottomline is that you are paid for what you do, so you should not be complaining at all. If you do not like your work, then get your resignation letter ready and go.

Another thing is that if the younger can eventually catch up with the work, then you save a lot in compensation and benefits.

Answer 9

well id go with the older one unless the second one plans on making it a full time job... if not, it could be risky to keep him bc he could leave at any time.... but your full time employee plans on being there for awhile... as well try to make the chemistry of the entire staff as best as it can be.... best of luck though, in your decision....

Answer 10

My comment is this: If you have to come to Yahoo: Answers to decide whom to fire, you shouldn't be in charge of hiring or firing anyone.

I know this won't be a popular answer, but for Pete's sake! You're supposed to be in charge, you know these people and we don't, the people here have no stake whatsoever in the success or failure of your business - why in heck would you ask this kind of life-altering decision here?