Supervisory Notes – Jill Smith
Administrative Assistant I (1040 hours probationary period)
[PROBATIONARY REJECTION FOR ATTENDANCE]
9/10/10 (Monday, 9 a.m.) – I met with Jill Smith who started her County employment today. We went over the list of written expectations I provided which include department-specific expectations as well as generic expectations as a County employee. We then reviewed the resource materials including the reference manual and her training schedule for the next four weeks. I encouraged her to take notes during our meetings and to keep them in the resource binder that also includes desktop procedures and additional reference materials. We reviewed her work schedule that we had already discussed (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with lunch from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 pm). She provided me her home phone, cell phone, and emergency contact information for our departmental personnel files. I let her know to come to me if she has any questions and/or concerns regarding any instructions given. I explained that we’d initially meet each week to review her work. I then introduced her to her coworker Ben who has been in the department for several years and can provide her assistance in my absence.
9/25/10 (Tuesday, 11 a.m.) – I reviewed the work she had completed the past week that included setting up project files for me and preparing handouts for the meeting last Friday. She also set up the room including the equipment for a PowerPoint presentation by one of the attendees. She handled that last minute request promptly and efficiently and I told her how helpful that was for me. Jill appreciated the positive feedback. She then provided me an overview of her pending assignments and what she expects and/or needs to complete by Friday.
10/4/10 (Thursday, 9:20 a.m.) – Jill was twenty minutes late to our meeting because she was handling a difficult client on the phone and had emailed me during that call about the situation saying she’d be right in after the phone call. When she arrived, we discussed the phone call and whether further action was needed. She felt she had addressed the client’s concerns but wanted suggestions on how best to handle difficult calls in the future. I provided suggestions that I have found to be effective and recommended she take the County training “Conflict Resolution: Dealing with Difficult People” which others in the department have found useful. I told her I would enroll her through the County’s Learning Management System (LMS) which is accessible online. I encouraged her to review the course catalog to see if there were any other courses she’d be interested in taking. We then reviewed her work the previous week. I commented that the draft proposal document she had typed for Mary, the department director, was completed on time. However, it had several grammatical and typographical errors. Jill explained she couldn’t read Mary’s writing and didn’t want to bother me to clarify what was written. I told her that that was all right and appropriate to ask for clarification before submitting the final draft to me for review. She assured me that she would do so in the future and expects she’ll improve in this area as she becomes more accustomed to Mary’s writing. Since I will be on vacation next week, we scheduled our next supervision for 10/15/10.
10/15/10 (Monday, 2 p.m.) – I met with Mary this morning to review what occurred while I was out last week. Mary mentioned Jill’s attendance last week during my vacation. Jill was late on Thursday (10/11/10 – twenty minutes,) which had been brought to Mary’s attention by Ben, as he had to open the office and cover the reception desk until Jill arrived; he was unable to assist Mary on a project until Jill arrived. Jill had not called Mary that she was going to be late nor did she notify her when she arrived to work. Since Jill had not notified Mary about her tardy when she arrived, Mary asked Jill to come to her office at 9:30 a.m. and let her know she was aware that she was late that morning. Jill explained she set her alarm clock incorrectly so she left her home fifteen minutes late. Mary asked Jill if she was aware of our expectations about calling in no later than thirty minutes prior to start time if she was going to be late. Jill explained she was aware of this expectation and assured Mary it wouldn’t happen again. Jill asked Mary if she could shorten her lunch to forty minutes to make up the time and her request was granted. During our meeting today, I again asked if she had any questions and/or needed clarification about expectations regarding her work schedule and/or calling in if there was any change to that schedule. She told me she understood what’s expected of her and had no further questions. We then reviewed the work she completed during my vacation and let her know that Mary was pleased with the meeting minutes she had prepared for her last week. No additional revisions were needed and Mary was able to distribute them as needed. Jill then asked me if she could change her work hours from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. I told her that our office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and she’s responsible for opening the office and covering the reception desk. I told her I could not adjust her work schedule.
10/26/10 (Friday) – Jill called me at 9 a.m. to say she was sick and would not be coming in. She told me she would bring in a doctor’s note when she returned to work on Monday.
10/29/10 (Monday, 9 a.m.) – I met with Jill to discuss her two unscheduled absences since she started. I explained that it’s crucial that she is reliable; it makes a big impact when she’s not here. I also reiterated that she needs to call Mary or me by 7:30 a.m. – within thirty minutes of her start time – if she’s not coming in so we have time to make alternate arrangements for front desk coverage. Her absence last Friday was her second unscheduled absence. She initially became upset and said that I wasn’t being fair. I told her that the expectations given to her were the same expectations given to other employees in the department and I’m treating her no differently and expect the same from her. She agreed to comply with these expectations and said she would call Mary or me by 7:30 a.m. if she’s late and/or not coming in. I told Jill that minimum improvement would be no more than two unscheduled absences, which includes tardies, in any three-month period.
11/9/10 (Friday) – I met with Jill and we reviewed her work for the previous week and the project due by 11/20. She had typed up the meeting agenda and still had to make copies of the handouts and articles to be included in the participants’ packets – twenty total. She attended the County training course about dealing with difficult people and explained how she can incorporate the information and tips she learned in that class into her work.
11/15/10 (Thursday, 3 p.m.) – I met with Jill and reviewed her “To Do” list for the meeting next week. She’s made the copies of the handouts and still needs to copy the five articles. She expects to complete the participants’ packets by close of business Monday. I told her if she needed any help to ask Ben or me. She said she has everything under control and does not anticipate any difficulties getting the packets done.
11/16/10 (Friday, 3 p.m.) – Left work two hours early – headache.
11/21/10 (Wednesday, 2 p.m.) – I met with Jill and reviewed her work regarding yesterday’s meeting. The packets were completed on time yesterday and the meeting room was set up as I had requested. During the meeting, she periodically checked in with me to see if I needed anything. I told Jill I appreciated her extra efforts.
11/30/10 (Friday) – Jill was a no show/no call (AWOL). I left her messages on her home phone and cell phone around 9 a.m. informing her to call me back immediately. She called me at 12:00 p.m. to say she was too tired and wouldn’t be in. She told me she didn’t call me earlier because she slept in and forgot to call. I told her to plan to meet with me when she returned to work.
12/3/10 (Monday, 10 a.m.) – I met with Jill regarding her AWOL (absence without Leave) last Friday. I explained that her AWOL last Friday was unacceptable and will not be tolerated. I advised her that I had verbally counseled her regarding her attendance about her three unscheduled absences; yet I had not seen any commitment on her part and her unscheduled absence last Friday was considered AWOL. Due to attendance concerns, I advised Jill that she was being rejected during her probationary period, and I gave her a letter prepared by Employee Relations to that effect. If she wanted to resign, she had until tomorrow at 10 a.m. to submit her resignation, and the rejection would be changed to a resignation.
[SEE SECTION 3 FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING PROBATIONARY PERIODS]