Last week, we asked:

What, in the past or in the present, has prevented (is preventing) you from creating a "fire stick" when needed?

Answers included:

Performance, with the exception of this one area, was excellent and unfortunately, it was the perception that his skills were unique and we could find no one else that could do what he did. The problem behavior was in safety with chemicals. It took a serious violation of a safety regulation (25 gallons of phenol stored under a desk - in an open office area) to get a stick made.

The poor-performing employee, though deserving of firing for multiple offenses plus poor productivity, stays on. She has a legitimate physical handicap as well as a history of retaining lawyers, so our HR department has set very high standards of documentation and low standards of performance before she can be dismissed. Example: we had video evidence of her lying about a safety incident. The plant manager and I reviewed the video, but the video was inadvertently destroyed before a permanent copy could be made. HR decided that the testimony of the two managers would be insufficient should there be a court case. I am still laboring to build a strong enough case...

HR policy. There appears to be some kind of remediation program here. This is T-Ball where there are no strikes, you just swing until you hit it. Or you get tired and try to hit it tomorrow.

Tenure of employee Maintaining status quo

The week we are asking you about Greenwashing. You can take the quiz here or click on "More" below.

Want to get a jump on the surveys? Follow me on twitter, where they are posted early. You can do this here. (note: all respondents are confidential; the software is programmed in such a way that neither we nor anyone else can determine who responded)

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Want to be heard on other subjects? Be sure to watch for "Paperitalo Second Tuesday Surveys."