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Hi ya party people,

We’re sooo close to finishing a long week, and it’s time to pat ourselves on the back!

Transform was a lot of fun, but now I’m ready to “transform” into a blanket burrito for the next 48 hours. 🤷‍♀️

BUT before that happens, we have a Q&A to discuss!.

We've got someone whose boss quit and their coworker got fired with absolutely zero plan to replace either of them (love that for nobody), and someone trying to enforce attendance with an employee who's been chronically late while leadership spent two years actively pretending not to notice.

Cool! Great! Totally manageable situations!

So let’s get this party started, and pleaaase submit questions if you have them!

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ASK AWAY

🤔 replacements & lateness

✍🏾 Alright. My coworker was fired and my boss quit within a month of each other. There's no plan to replace either. We all know how this is going to go... any tips? Help!

Context: We are a small company with multiple locations managing event venues!

📣 Rebecca Dobrzynski, Director of People & Culture @ Greenfield Global:

Oh no, I’m so sorry you’re in this situation! Since so much of this is out of your control, you should spend your energy on the the things that you *can* control:

1) Proactively and repeatedly flag areas of risk: Put in writing any of the things you’re concerned about—competing priorities, loss of work quality, longer response time to inquiries. Be honest about where balls are going to be dropped and force the people around you to acknowledge that the level of work cannot be the same with one person as with three. Your job isn’t to figure out how to make output stay the same with ⅓ of the human resources; your job is to spell out what the consequences of this decision are going to be.

2) Aggressively set and enforce boundaries on your time/capacity: We all know this will be the hardest one. But “burning out and ruining your health and personal life” aren’t in your job description, so resist the temptation to make your entire life about this job just because your to-do list will never end and things are going to get more painful. Your life is full of appointments and prior obligations, so no, you can’t stay late/work an extra event/respond after hours. Don’t budge.

3) Realistically, start exploring your options and see if you can find a new job in an environment where you will actually be set up for success.

📣 Luke Willman, Engagement & Culture @ St. Elizabeth Healthcare & St. Elizabeth Physicians:

Congratulations on your Involuntary Promotion! (haha) Sounds like you’ve been gifted two extra workloads but zero extra paychecks (not so haha)

Consider This: If you continue to pull off miracles in a vacuum, your leaders will assume the new skeleton crew is a new normal rather than a system #FAIL.

I agree with what Rebecca Dobrzynski offered... it's time to stop being the SHOWRUNNER and start being the FIRE MARSHAL. Hypothetical example... instead of staying late to finish a floor plan for a missing staffer and hiding the struggle, get ahead of it by noting well in advance, "To ensure the event on Saturday is safe and compliant, I am prioritizing the floor plans over the Q3 vendor audit; please let me know if you’d prefer I flip those priorities as I manage my current capacity."

But I will take documenting the risk one step further... force THEM to make the trade-offs so the resulting void in work speaks for itself. That will help shift your focus from making it happen all the time to making the consequences visible enough to ensure that when a ball inevitably drops, it lands loudly on that decider's desk.

Also of note: This can be a tightrope act. Remember, you can still be the high-performing asset they can't afford to lose ...just become the indispensable expert who manages the chaos they created instead of the martyr / human doormat that is being exploited into cushioning their fall;)

📣 Alex White, Regional Director, HR @ Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club:

You’re getting some great advice here - and I’ll add one layer from the “seen this movie before” file.

What you’re experiencing isn’t just a staffing gap…it’s a leadership test (whether they realize it or not). And right now, the risk is that high performers quietly absorb the chaos and accidentally normalize an unsustainable model.

A few things I’d focus on:

1) Make the invisible visible: If you keep pulling rabbits out of hats, leadership will assume the hat is full. It’s not. Spell out - clearly and professionally - what won’t get done, what quality will drop, and where the real risks are (especially in an events environment where mistakes are very public).

2) Trade-offs are above your pay grade - don’t own them: Your job isn’t to “figure it out no matter what.” Your job is to present options and let leadership decide what matters most. “Here are the top 3 priorities I can cover this week - what would you like deprioritized?” That’s not pushing back - that’s operating like a pro.

3) Protect your capacity like it’s part of the business plan (because it is): Burnout isn’t a badge of honor - it’s a liability. If the model only works when people overextend themselves indefinitely, the model is broken.

4) Quietly assess the bigger picture: Best case: leadership sees the gaps, recalibrates, and invests. Worst case: this becomes the “new normal.” You don’t need to panic but you do need to stay aware and keep your options open.

Bottom line: Be a problem-solver, not a shock absorber. There’s a big difference!

Safe Space members can join this discussion here. Not a member yet? Apply to join here.

✍🏾 I have an employee who is amazing in every way, except she is regularly late to work. Attendance has previously been ignored (2 years) by the executive of the company. How do I move forward?

Context: Nonprofit, less than 20 employees, specializing in victim services. Vicarious trauma is often a factor for employees.

📣 Morgan Stanley, Head of People @ Lithic:

I don't know what is driving the concern about the tardiness now (is it a new manager?), I don't know why the executive wasn't concerned/or wasn't paying attention, and I don't know what the company policy is on working hours. Setting that aside, I'd start by having the manager set expectations verbally - and be very clear - i.e. I've noticed that you tend to arrive around [time] but my expectation is that you be at work by [time], moving forward can you start arriving by [time]? If they push back with a valid reason (kids drop off, extended commute) the manager should consider if an accommodation can be made for a different work schedule like 10 - 6 instead 9-5.

If the employee does not push back or does not have a valid reason and begins showing up on time, great. If they continue the pattern after a week without a valid and approved reason, then I'd address it again and if you can, I'd explain in writing that the working hours are clearly defined in the Employee Handbook and/or offer letter and it is a requirement of the role that they show up on time - it is best when you can show how their tardiness impacts the teams work, their coworkers or their clients. If after a week they are still not showing up on time, it is likely time for HR to step in and do a more formal write up.

The key here is clear verbal and written documentation but I would do more research around the situation before diving in and I'd check if you have the ability to show that these hours are dictated in the handbook. I'd also really like to understand more context here around why they are coming in late, what accommodations can be made if any and why the executive doesn't care. There might be a good reason that it's gone on for so long and there might be a pre-approved reason. Hard to say given the lack of information.

📣 Donna Griffin, Director of People & Culture @ Intelligentsia Coffee:

What is prompting the issue now, after two years? Are there co-worker complaints? A change in leadership? And what is the impact of the tardiness? Is the employee exempt or non-exempt? Is there a defined attendance policy that has been ignored or is selecting enforced (you know, for people we don't like - wink, wink)?

There are two parts to an employee's performance: what they do (i.e. strong results) and how they do it (i.e timeliness). Both need to be in balance in order to maintain harmony and honor the company's culture. If the employee's tardiness is impacting the team's ability to support customers (internal or external), then it's something easily addressed, but I wonder if it's a serious issue if it's been accepted (i.e. condoned) for 2 years.

What else is going on?

📣 Luke Willman, Engagement & Culture @ St. Elizabeth Healthcare & St. Elizabeth Physicians:

I have to ask... Is this a performance issue or just a "punch-the-clock" power struggle?

Does her 9:15 AM arrival actually delay services to victims, or does it just bother the person who arrived at 8:55 AM? If her work is exemplary and no deadlines are being missed, you aren't managing performance - you're managing a clock. With high performers, you always lose that game; you can quickly turn a dedicated advocate into a clock-minder who stops going the extra mile the second the 5:00 PM whistle blows. In a nonprofit with fewer than 20 people, getting the job done should always carry more weight than getting to their chair;)

Is it really worth running off a superstar over a 15-minute window? (because a vacancy and a massive recruiting bill await you on the other side of that alleged win) Focus on the output, protect the culture, and remember that loyalty is built in the gray areas, not the black-and-white lines of an attendance policy!

That being said... if it is TRULY impacting performance at a macro level... keep in mind that leaders often fall into a fairness trap (if I let her be late, everyone will be late). THIS IS A FALLACY. Most employees don't want the "right" to be a little late - they want to be TRUSTED. If you address the impact (we need coverage for the intake line right at 9a) rather than the incident (You're 10 minutes late!), you invite her to be part of the solution rather than a defendant at trial.

Safe Space members can join this discussion here. Not a member yet? Apply to join here.

🚨 ON YOUR RADAR

🎧 I Hate It Here Podcast: I'm always dropping new episodes with your favorite People Ops leaders! Until we return with a new season of guests, enjoy some of the greatest hits! Check it out on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!

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❤️ From ‘I Hate it Here’ to ‘I Love it Here’: Your Culture Transformation Roadmap. HR can influence culture change in any organization, and this course teaches you how. Join the Safe Space community to access it!

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📝 RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Each week I feature a resource I love from the Safe Space library that I believe would be relatable to this week's newsletter topic.

This week, we’re talking human connection. Check it out HERE ⬇️