TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES?

pattyo

We've hired a new employee in anticipation of terminating a current employee. Her first day of employment follows shortly after the termination date. Should I give her a heads up of the situation she is coming into? The employee to be terminated has been here 5 years so office morale may be affected. She may sense something is going on or get some kind of attitude from some people. Is it unfair to not explain the situation to her?

Parabeaglex2

In my opinion, it's very unfair not to be honest and direct under the circumstances. Whenever I conduct interviews with candidates in anticipation of terminating an incumbent, I always advise them (during the interview) that they are being considered a confidential replacement for an employee who is being let go. That way, if they aren't comfortable with the situation they can remove themselves from consideration.

pattyo

Thank you. I've never been in this situation. The terminations I've been involved in were such that no replacements were necessary.

AJ SPHR

I dunno, parabeaglex2 (what kind of moniker is that!?), what would you say? I wouldn't expect problems and possibly create problems by telling more than you should. I've filled positions that were vacated as the result of discharging the employee who held the position, but I don't think it's my job to tell the new employee about it. I will share expectations of the job and requirements for it, but just don't see value in telling the new employee about the old employee.

Parabeaglex2

The moniker's the best I could come up with after the disappearance of the dear, departed Parabeagle.

Anyway, I don't share much information. However, I do tell the finalist candidates that they would be replacing an ee whose employment is being terminated so they can be better prepared for employees' reactions once they begin work. I have seen employees give new hires the cold shoulder, for example.

AJ SPHR

So, are you the real Parabeagle, come back to life under a new moniker?x:-/ Or are you the president of the Parabeagle fan club, whose first guiding principle is "No one else shall assume the name of Parabeagle, but Parabeagle himself!"/:)

Ok, I do agree with what you explained above, taking the approach to let the new employee know the previous employee was terminated, but not elaborating beyond that.

HRinNH

I didn't learn until after I was hired that my predecessor was arrested in this office and taken out in handcuffs for dealing drugs. Of course it didn't affect my outlook on the job but it sure explained why other office people watched me closely and asked a lot of personal questions about my social life.

Cheryl C.

pattyo

mmmmm - it's not really as bad as that. Our industry is tight and it's a whole 3 weeks away before she would start. My other concern is if I don't explain and ask her for confidentiality, word will get out but if I do explain, I may predispose her to self-conscious feelings.

I agree with Parabeaglex2, our office is only about 40 people so I'm also concerned that she'll get the cold shoulder or she'll get funny vibes because she's replacing someone well-liked.

Well, thanks for the input. I'm going to proceed as you suggested and be forthright about the situation.

crawfod

Honesty is your best policy for the applicant, but I'm confused about the incumbent's status. Does the incumbent know they're being separated yet? I'm assuming not or you wouldn't be worried about "word getting out". Why would you keep an apparently poor performer for 3 more weeks plus the amount of time you have already spent in searching for her replacement?

If you think morale will suffer due to the unexpected termination of a co-worker, wait until they find out from the new worker how long ago she was offered the job, and also the fact that she was interviewed before the incumbent even knew what was going on. Knowing or not knowing your boss is plotting on replacing you is a real morale killer to me.

If that is the case, tell the incumbent soon and that she has 3 weeks notice, although I can't picture a situation where termination has been decided upon and then you let this person continue to stay on the job and continue to perform poorly.

Like I said, maybe I just don't understand the situation, but being forthright with all affected parties seems like the best course.

pattyo

As a short explanation of why the delay, this person's resume was submitted in response to an ad for another position. The decision to terminate the incumbent was already made, it was just a matter of when. She has already been written up and counseled for continuing problems. We don't ordinarily make the decision to terminate then delay for weeks but things have just worked out that way due to schedules.

Thanks again. I'll go forward with all your advice.

Don D

Think about it. Regardless of what you share in confidence with the new hire, the reaction from the staff and coworkers will be exactly the same. If your concern is how others will react and what treatment and discerning stares she might get, telling her that she is replacing Jack The Ripper will do nothing to alleviate all of that.

My practice has always been to not address the matter unless the applicant asks, "Why is this position open?", and even then, I would not share the intimate details with the applicant. It simply is not a good practice. Answer the question with the least amount of detail possible.

But, your question was, "Should I give her a heads up?" Yes, you should. If there are problems in her work unit she should not be expected to discover them on her own. Tell her what problems she might expect and tell her the company's expectations for dealing with them. Otherwise, you set her up for failure.

pork1

NO, one personality should not be involved with management decisions any more than the other.

We hired and brought on-board a seasoned trained Swine Manager with the intend of terminating one of 11 managers. We thought we knew which one it would be, but guess what another manager optioned his position away, when he oked the viewing of a XXX personal CD on the office computer by the mixed group of employees. Guess what, one of the employees was offended and "blew the whistle".

The new manager got his opportunity faster than we thought and we could not wait for him to get here. We moved up his start date to yesterday (which was before Christmas 2004) and he came on without his family, who waited for the school to break for Christmas.

PORK