Case Analysis Regulatory Review Commission
Executive Summary This case deals with the unstable work environment at the RRC Operations office in particular between Monique Ricard and Brian Coffey. Brian’s work habits are poor and are becoming a detriment to office workflow. Now Monique must decide what to do with the employee whether to discharge, request a transfer or request a continuation of his probationary period. The problems that Monique is facing with Brian include tardy assignments and lack of discipline in terms of punctuality around the office.
He is continually handing in assignments either right at deadlines or exceeding them.
In addition he has had unexplained prolonged absences in recent time. The causes from these problems could be stemming from a number of sources, for one the structure of this department makes it very difficult for full time employees to get discharged without substantial evidence against them and this also involves a lot of unnecessary man hours. Another cause could be that the structure of the office is currently not finished, many positions are vacant which leaves Brian to handle an expanded work load.
A last cause could be lack of fit between people as Brian has had a past history of these poor work habits and never seemed to adjust them. The goals seem to be to set more structured deadlines for assignments, ensure that personnel files are kept more closely up to date and get the staff rate to at least eighty percent of full. For the action alternatives one potential is to start enforcing a stricter probationary period, the current one seems far too laid back and instead the departments must constantly make personnel updates after every transfer of an employee so their work habits are properly detailed.
Another would be to start looking to fill the Operations Centre positions more aggressively as right now almost fifty percent of the theorized staff is still vacant which creates higher workloads for the remaining workers. The last plan of action would be to discharge Brian Coffey by taking the proper steps outlined in the Administrative Actions: Section 33. My personal recommendation would be to discharge Brian as it seems he meets the grounds for dismissal based on the evidence surrounding him. Monique must acquire all this evidence documenting the incompetence but also the efforts she took to assist him in correcting his ways.
With this evidence Monique should go to Head Office and request from them a discharge of Mr. Coffey.
If this plan of action ends up not unfolding as planned, the next steps would be to keep looking to fill out the staff requirements of the Operations Office. Once fully staffed, if Brian’s work attitude still has remained the same it would seem appropriate to request a demotion of him from Head Office as he seems to be unfit to properly carry out the regular tasks in his current job. Overview This case deals with the RRC a department of the government where Monique Ricard and Brian Coffey work.
In a government office positions are much more stable and due to this grounds for dismissal must be very clear. Brian’s past actions in other sections of the same building have been poor and Monique his new supervisor is noticing the lack of quality now as well.
Brian has made a couple attempts at other jobs/schools but none yet proven effective. Monique must decide whether to discharge him, transfer him to another section or request an extension of his probationary period as it was set to expire soon. Problems
Brian was charged with the planning and development of charts and statistical formats analyzing and incorporating information received in status reports. His first assignment he completes at a later time than deemed necessary which directly forces Monique to waste her time to keep reminding him. All assignments after this one done either just on time or also submitted late which was not agreed upon, never done as soon as could be.
Brian was away without notice of leave for Monday and some of Tuesday, this leaves the office with not enough workers.
Policy stating that when no more work is available that as much effort needs to be put in to help the employee find another job of a comparable quality set. Causes There is a lack of fit between process/systems. the fact that this office is run through the government it makes it hard for employees to be discharged involuntarily. Government jobs usually bring with them a more stable environment and due to this discharging an employee in this department becomes extremely frustrating.
Brian’s last supervisor noted the drawbacks in his workmanship but only voiced these concerns in person.
No formal written complaints were ever filed, instead he was merely passed along to another department. Also a policy stating that when no more work is required, everything will be done to get them another job of comparable skill when instead they could simply offload these workers. There is a lack of fit between structure. After reviewing the RRC staff organization chart it can be seen that they are understaffed.
When three out of the eight positions available are currently vacant a problem may arise.
Monique may think she is giving Brian sufficient time for his assignment but these allotted times are most likely done in figures where the office is fully staffed. Brian may be taking longer than apparently needed due to the lack of additional coworkers in the office. There is a lack of fit between processes. Brian is a young man and seems not sure yet about his life plans evidenced by the scattering of university courses done, his application to the RCMP and his current job.
The RRC has strict guidelines you must follow in terms of work competency, if an employee is consistently incompetent as Brian is and where management has made every reasonable effort to assist them and the problem still persists, then a discharge is warranted.
This incompetency must be documented though to ensure validity as well as the effort to assist. Goals A more organized due date for assignments where multiple deadlines are put into place to ensure that the work is done in manageable incremental steps.
Ensure that personnel files are kept up to date as lower level employees tend to shift around offices and their proper work behaviour needs to be known. Also a benchmark should be set for the positions marked, making sure that staff employment is no less than eighty percent fully staffed. Action Alternatives In terms of the government policy of making it difficult for employees to be discharged a grace period should be implemented for the early stages of an employee’s career.
Although a one year probationary period is in effect it seems to be a very poor system, instead the files must be continually updated to ensure employees have not entered into poor work habits which affects their own work and that of their coworkers.
In terms of the management staff, they need to be properly staffed in order to ensure maximum work potential. If one person is doing the work of three, you must adjust accordingly by either allocating less work or supply the worker with more time to complete the assignment. It is not plausible for a single employee to be asked to finish the work of three in the same span of time.
In the case of Brian Coffey, it would seem that he is quickly making himself unwanted at this office due to his lack of regard for RRC procedure outlines. If past history is anything to go by, then he seems unlikely to change his ways in the near future. and the only option he is presenting himself with for Monique is dismissal.
In addition Monique even gave him the kindness to have a formal interview where she discussed his poor work habits in an appropriate setting but Brian took none of her advice/comments and the work continued to be poor.
Recommendation I would choose to go with the third course of action and discharge Brian Coffey on the grounds of incompetence. To ensure that the dismissal proves successful Monique must provide documented evidence of incompetence as well as efforts taken to assist the employee. Documented evidence could include his first ever work appraisal which already outlines the problems mentioned, meaning he has a history of it. Also she has had a formal interview with him where she discussed his problems and how to help fix them which he clearly did not take.
Once this evidence is accumulated, Monique should go to Head Office with these issues and let them be the judge.
During this time yes, Brian will be even more useless than normal and Monique’s workload will increase for a while until the hearing is seen out but these time costs are worth it in the end. After the hearing is finished she will be able to hire a worker of competent ability who will presumably do a better job and allow Monique more time to focus on her own agenda and also make the workflow process flow more evenly. Contingency
If the Head Office deems that there was not enough evidence for grounds of dismissal of Brian Coffey then a new course of action must be taken. Once he is back in the office continue looking for employees to fill out the office so the workload can still be more evenly distributed, after this time it would seem appropriate to request Brian Coffey for a demotion in the office as he was not able to fulfil the needs before and search for a new clerk should be underway. It is a more roundabout way of going about this business with additional costs required but the structure of the office may demand this road to be taken.
