In this story, Jim Falter, a team leader working for an oil producer, failed to gather information and listen to an employee regarding a persistent problem. Instead of asking questions, Jim scolded and reported, leading to an ill-informed decision that could have been detrimental to a long-term employee. This story demonstrates the importance of gathering facts before taking action.

 Here’s the story as told by Bill Barnes, an H.R. Director, who intervened and grasped the situation from his point of view.

I just sat down in my office when Mary Jones, an engineer, appeared in my door with contents of her desk in her hand and sobbing, “I just got fired from my job, and I don’t know why!”

Before I could gather any information, I tried to console Mary as she was clearly devastated. As a long-term employee with an excellent record, her distress was understandable.  I asked her take a seat and to start from the beginning: “What happened when you came in this morning?”

After calming down, Mary described how the events transpired when she came into work: “I was 25 minutes late, so I rushed to meet with my team as soon as I arrived. My team leader stands up and says ‘You’re late. The boss wants to see you immediately.’ I go to his office, and as I enter he stands up, pointing his finger, and says to me, ‘clean out your desk and leave the office now. We will mail you your final check’.” Sobbing again, Mary explained that she left pleading for an explanation.  

Being the HR Director for a segment of the organization, I was near the bottom of the company, so I didn’t necessarily want to attack the issue head on and approach the boss. Instead, I decided to grab lunch with Mary’s team leader, Jim Falter. Over lunch, we discussed the events that happened this morning from Jim’s point of view. He explained to me that Mary had been coming to work late for about a month now. Surprised, I asked him when this all started. “The first incident was August 20^th, and she continued to be late from that point on.  I reported her to the boss 3 times, and he said he would talk to her about the issue.” It was odd to me that a long-term, excellent employee was showing up late to work suddenly and consistently, so I gathered more information by taking her out to lunch the next day.

I started off by assuring her that the work she contributes to the company is excellent. We discussed the meeting I had with Jim the day before, and I said, “Jim informed me that August 20th was the first time you started coming in late. What started going on August 20th?” With a sigh, Mary explained that her son started school that day and his bus leaves at 7:35am. With the traffic in this city and her 30 minute commute, she was lucky if she made it to work on time

THE REST OF THE STORY

When the boss discovered the reason for Mary’s tardiness, Jim was the one getting scolded this time around. As a company that seeks to accommodate its employees by respecting and being inclusive to all, Mary was treated unfairly and was fired because the necessary information was not gathered.  Jim demonstrates the importance of understanding and listening to employees. He expressed his frustrations, explaining that Mary should have confronted him about the issue rather than coming to me, but I explained that she would have been more comfortable revealing the situation had she not been scolded every time she was late.  Ultimately, Mary returned to her job with a few solutions that we created for the days that she would be late. Her needs were accommodated without scorn or punishment.

How did Bill grasp the situation from his perspective? What diagnostic approach was used, and would you approach the situation differently? How would your company or organization accommodate Mary?