Chris has been a secretary in your office for seven years. The atmoshere in the office is relaxed and friendly, and staff often refer to it as one big family. Everyone gets along and seems to like each other. his cell phone, and chatting with clients and the other secretary about non-work subjects. The other two manager have both complained to you they think it’s beginning to interfere with the productivity of the office. Chris has received an overall performance rating of Exceeds Expectations over the past three years. Chris is cometimes overly sensitive, so you are not sure how she will react to your addressing the situation.
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you must remember “perception is reality” so if 2 managers perceive a problem then there is one…..
with that said the entire office needs to be counseled…. obviously the entire office is getting a little too friendly and needs to step back a bit. handle it as explained by ‘mcq316’ with all of those involved. be firm but fair, make sure expectations are set, explained, communicated, tracked, reinforced, and then results are communicated……..
EDIT:
‘K’ has also provided a fine example….
As her manager, I would want to first verify for myself that her performance is being affected. I’ll trust the other managers, but I would need to observe it for myself before I address the issue. If its true, I would pull her aside as discreetly as possible and tell her that there is a noticeable dip in her performance due to her socializing. I would also address the entire staff to let everyone know that work comes first while you’re on the clock. I’m certainly not going to be mean about it. I’ll be polite and professional, but also clear and firm in what I’m saying. That she may be sensitive to criticism isn’t my problem. It’s hers. Like I said, I’m not going to be mean and I’m only going to say something if I can CLEARLY see a problem. So, given that, if Chris has a problem with my comments, she can start updating her resume.
Chris, we are so lucky to have a casual work environment and you are a big part of that with your cheerful disposition. But you know, I have noticed lately that you are chatting either on the phone or around the office about non-business stuff – which is fine but it is starting to get excessive. It is distracting. It appears as though you dont have enough to do…
Get her feedback, give her more to do (projects with deadlines), follow up your conversation with an email:
Chris
As we discussed, here are the projects I would like done by Thursday. Thanks for our discussion today, I am glad you understand that too much non-work related conversation around the office can be very distracting to others.
This starts the documentation process and gives you something to refer back to if thngs dont get better… and if they dont get better, you go into formal warning process