Being Friendly

Being friendly can kill a business.

Someone will say Waldman has run out of things to write about . . . not so.

If you are in supervision you are constantly on the lookout for competent people to carry out the necessary functions of a business.

What do you look for? . . . The little things. I have one secretary that sets the example for all our other employees. I keep saying . . . there has to be something wrong with her . . . and so far there isn’t . She's all business and yet has the time to be compassionate and helpful.

On the other hand there is one employee that we will probably have to go . . . her vice . . . being too friendly. You've seen the type . . . . they spend most of their time being friendly rather than getting the job done. This one can't stay off the phone. We changed her billet from secretary to receptionist because of her proclivity to talk . . . we thought this would give her an outlet for her passion . . . talking. She certainly wasn't filling the bill as secretary . . . when she left that secretarial position she had 18 "to-do"pages. But now what does she do? When calls come in she keeps them on the phone . . . this is especially true when calls come in from other employees . . . she gets upset with them if they don’t spend time "smoosing" with her. Not only does she waste her time but she also wastes theirs . . . a double-whammy to efficiency.

So what do you do about this . . . you try instruction but unfortunately most of the time that is a waste of time.

You have to let her (and others like her) go . . . you have no choice . . . she’s too friendly.