The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: Part IV
When employees know you are easily manipulated, just how far will they go? She was in another state, and I finally realized I had no clue what was going on.
You’re reading Part Four of a series. For clarity and flow, start at the beginning. Names in this article have been changed.
About three years ago, Sue’s personal needs became difficult to juggle with work. Between legal issues, financial problems, and a home life that left her up in arms, I was understanding, sincere and accommodating. Too much, in fact. Most of our phone calls during business hours were of a personal nature. She’d begun borrowing money, and many times she left the office early to seek out therapy or just take time to herself. I was, as any boss and friend would be, concerned for her mental health. Each day new stories of depression, angst and destitution arose. And though I knew that most of the problems were directly attributed to her own actions, I was totally supportive - after all, it was not so long before that I had experienced my own bout of depression after my husband lost his sight.
After months of this, however, I wondered just how much time she was “taking For herself” - time for which the company was paying her. Many tasks were not being completed. After I analyzed the books I realized that even payables (like monthly credit card statements and transactions) were being ignored. The books were in such disarray I feared we’d never be able to get them straight.
I decided to address the situation by asking for a detailed report of income vs expenditures - i.e. where was all the money coming in going? And why were we getting shorter and shorter when it came to being able to pay the bills? Each time I inquired I was provided with the same information: certain long-term projects from the publishing sector were draining all the funds.
Before I continue, I will say that even most recent record scrubbing showed that, while on a few occasions I found some minimal payroll advances with no reimbursement to match the withdrawals (amounting to less than $400 over eight years), there was no evidence of any mass embezzlement. I want to get that straight because I can honestly say that I don’t think, and never did think, that cold hard cash was just walking out the door.
It became clear that Sue, despite experience and her work history, was either unable or unwilling to perform the job duties she was assigned. I began receiving complaints about payables being paid late, sometimes by several months. Various clients grew concerned because whenever they called the NY office, they were met with a recording.
As I periodically addressed issues, I was always faced with responses that were nothing more than excuses, or, the oft-said reasons - that I had said I’d take care of a multitude of tasks myself.
Another year passed and things got worse. We’d cut down on the publishing of books and comics that had proven not to be financially worthwhile, and cut down office expenses. We only bought the necessities. While the bank account showed that we were staying afloat, I realized the credit card accounts were either at or above their limits. Such changes put strain on my marriage, because I’d ask my husband to stop overspending and he’d deny spending anything other than what had been discussed.
It wasn’t long before my family caught onto what was happening, and whenever they’d ask why I continued to work this way, I explained that despite the down sides, having someone I could count on when I would be called out of town (which was quite often) was very important to me. My family would express their concerns, but never push the issue because I would always come to Sue’s defense.
Several times I was concerned Sue would leave the company, and she always assured me that she loved her job and loved the day-to-day challenges. She never hit me up for raises, and because I had hired her at a higher-than-the-norm rate, there weren’t really any to be given.
In an effort to get more involved with the process, I setup weekly meetings during which I’d ask Sue questions about the company’s finances and her various tasks. She’d deny my comments about not staying on top of the day-to-day responsibilities, but when I pointed out that more than $22,000 in receivables had gone uncollected because past due invoices weren’t being followed up on, she became defensive again. While she had access to the same information as I, I printed out the statements and circled client names and faxed her with instructions on who to call and what to say. I felt like I was training an Olympic swimmer to ice skate.
Not contacting clients, however, had become a regular pattern. Every time we’d fall into the red, I’d look and sure enough, there’d be a high number of uncollected receivables. I never understood why Sue always acted is if it wasn’t her fault that this wasn’t done, and I’d constantly have to ride her. Then came the calls about payroll…
In early 2007, just as she had a few times prior, Sue called, concerned that she wouldn’t be able to cash her paycheck. In the past I’d always done what any employer needs to do - put in personal funds to make sure employees get paid. Her paycheck was still a week out, though, and this time I had to be firm. My exact words were: “Look at all these clients who owe us money and have not been contacted. That’s where your paycheck is.” That phone call was short, and she didn’t seem very pleased with my reaction. Within hours, however, payments started pouring in, as did apologetic emails from clients who had either not received the first bill, or had simply forgotten to pay. Many wondered, though, why there was such a gap in the time from the original bill delivery to follow ups requesting payment.
In the midst of all things financial, I began to lose sight myself, once again, of the core problem. So I took a few days to think about my goals and how best to reach them. I called my business coach (who also happens to be a therapist) and we spent several hours talking about anything and everything. When we organized all the thoughts and commentary and laid it all out on the table, I made some grand discoveries. They were rather unsettling. If I didn’t share them I’d come out of this entire series feeling like I’ve wasted your time…
Next Up: I face the brutal reality of what I’ve ignored and what I’ve allowed to happen…
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