2/12/2013–This is an experience I had with an employee who taught me that we can’t manage people’s character.
The employee has served here for 8ish months. He’s possibly getting fired soon for cheating on tests for other people. There are compelling reasons to keep him, however. He has an interesting track record of bright spots marred by instances of poor judgement. My aim is to distinguish the background info that does matter from that which doesn’t.
What does matter: he has a history of poor judgment, temper, disrespect toward managers, and unprofessional behavior toward and around staff are noted. He also has shown effort above and beyond what’s asked of him. He also is a headwait/closer/opener with open availability.
What doesn’t matter is his interpretation of how his cheating was discovered. He felt “entrapped” and sprung upon. He refused to say whose tests he took because he’s “not a snitch”. He claims the tests aren’t taken seriously so he didn’t think it was a big deal. Were this true, it’s no justification for lying about it; it only would reveal an issue to be addressed.
I feel he should be fired. A management team cannot effectively develop people’s character. We can provide guidance, but we’re responsible for making good servers out of good people, not good people out of good servers.
OOTW: “You shouldn’t try to make me feel bad for doing this. I don’t regret it.” -Doc
?FNW: Will Doc be fired? Yes
10/25/2017 review: I look back with mixed feelings here. I would come to the same conclusion that he should’ve been fired, but less because manager’s can’t “make good people out of good servers”. I’m not one to suggest managers are responsible for the moral development of their directs, however in the restaurant environment you can influence young people to the extent that they develop principled decision-making. Granted, if they’re cheating and refuse to listen to why it’s unethical cut your losses. But if a manager sets an example of professionalism for people who, maybe haven’t worked before or are still maturing, you can absolutely have the effect of preventing unethical decisions from being made, thus benefiting the business. Managers are constantly on display and thus set the tone of what’s acceptable. Effective ethical managers show that doing the right thing is easiest in the long run.