Opinions and advice, please

[Ree]

We are starting an Employee of the Month program at our store.

Each manager is to put one name forward on Thursday morning, and the entire management team will vote on it.

I have two employees whom I feel deserve the honour, and I don't know how to decide.

This is going to be a really special one, because it's the first one.

Here are the qualifications of the two young men. Help me decide.

• The first boy has been with us for a while - probably 2 years. He's always been a really good worker. No matter what you ask of him, he does it without complaint.
  He never calls in or misses work.
  He's always on time.
  There's not one senior person in the store who hasn't told me what an awesome kid he is and what a great worker he is.

• The second boy has only been with us for about 7 months. He's also a really good worker. Never complains about having to do his job.
  All summer long, the kid sweated his butt off in the upper warehouse, completely organizing my entire storage area of paint.
  He had it all done, only to have the really picky paint manager say, "That looks good, but..." and it meant that he had to completely redo another section. Did he swear or get upset? Nope.
  He calmly went back to work and did it.
  I am getting compliments all the time on how great that area looks, and how the warehouse is coming together nicely. (You should have seen it before. )

So those are my two candidates. If you had to make the choice, who would you pick?
The employee who has been there longer, or the new kid who has really proven what he's made of?

[Der Cute]

Put both of their names in.
Seriously.

Write to the comittee the same you've written here, and say both are equal.

Otherwise, I'd go with the person being there the longest. They already have some status, and this "acknowledgement" by management will increase their status within the group.

If you gave it to the newcomer, I think Older would resent it due to the "I've been here longer" thought.


Cute

[SteverinoNY]

I voted for the good worker who has been there for longer because he has proven that he's capable of performing the job. The new kid and his work ethic are admirable, but I'd still be loyal to my long time employees.

The fear I have with an employee of the month system (and why I don't like them) is that one person in this case will undoubtably feel slighted. The new person will feel like his skills aren't being appreciated and his effort for learning the job is going unnoticed. However, if the new person gets the honor, the senior employee may feel threatened by the noob. Then, he may be hostile to that employee. Who knows... just my

[Ree]

If you gave it to the newcomer, I think Older would resent it due to the "I've been here longer" thought.

I considered that, but I do have 14 staff in my department, and there are over 120 through the store, so he wouldn't even know he was up against the other kid.

It's strictly managers 'in the know'.
Also, we have been told we only get one name per department.

And too, the thing that makes me really like the first kid so much is that he really is a super kid and quite easy-going.

The new guy made me look good, though. (I realize it's not about me.)

And, oh yeah...because we are only 5 months old...a large majority of staff are all "new kids".

[JuniorMintz]

Well, if it's Employee of the Month, I'd say go with the kid who has been there longer first, and the new kid next month. They both sound like good kids.

[Becks]

I agree with Junior Mintz.

Cute's suggestion was good, too.

Oh, dear, I'm conflicted now.

[Banrion]

I would go with the one who has been there longer, and shown a consistent attitude and ability to perform the job above expectation. Since this is a new program, it is likely that after 2 years this one may need that little ego boost more than the new kid. There is always next month for the new kid.

[Ryu]

i really dont like my companies employee of the month program because almost all of the people who win are in box or the top sellers of combos in concessions
ushers are just cast aside, as are those who do usher and concession in the same shift semi often
so i've never been employee of the month even though i'd like to think the same could be written about me as the first employee
so my opinion would be to give it to the one who has been there longer

[Canadian In Maine]

Why no have co-winners? Barring that happening I would go with the one who has been there the longest.

[LostMyMind]

I pick the new kid. This is why:

Employee of the month should be the "best" worker of that month. It shouldn't matter how long the employee has been there. If a guy just hired, did miracles around his co-workers. He should be picked.

Sounds like the new kid did alot of "extra" work above and beyond normal work. That should be honored.

[Ryu]

well the new kid did that work over a period of months, not just this one month so i dont see that really being valid
i see your point i just think you missed how long the new person has been there

[LostMyMind]

Why should "how long the new person has been there" matter?

If he been there a single month and was the best employee of that month, then he should get the honors. The award is "best employee of the month", not "Best senior employee of the month".

***Clarification
I'm not putting down guy #1. But from what I'm sensing. Guy #1 is the "model" employee that Ree wants all her employees behave like. Guy #2 did alot of other stuff that isn't part of his normal job, did a very nasty job without complaint, etc... Yes, I realize that the entire extra work was over several months. Assuming that guy #2 did part of that work the month the award is up for. He should get it.

[AforElephant]

-

May I?

It's a knife with two cutting edges.

However, this scheme is just starting so Ree can actually play for time. My opinion is that the longest serving employee should have their abilities recognised first. Ree will have to make sure that the new employee knows unofficially, that THEIR abilities are also recognised so that the employee does not lose their momentum and won't be ticked off too much. There's always next month.

Mind you, I don't agree with such a scheme at all. Good employee qualities/abilities should be recognised every single day - maybe it's easy for me to say that since I run a small company. Top management in bigger companies might appear to be a bit too distant and schemes like this if mismanaged can backfire badly.

[Dips]

Let's say that you've had an employee-of-the-month program all along. Look at the past 12 months. How many times would you have submitted employee 1's name and how many times would you have submitted employee 2's?

It sound like both deserve it, but the one whose name comes up most often over the past twelve months should be your first submission.

Or you could flip a coin. No. Wait. I'm not kidding. When I can't make a decision, I flip a coin. If I am disappointed the tails came up instead of the heads, I know that the heads choice was the one I really wanted subconsciously and I'll go with heads choice.

[NightAngel]

They both sound like excellent candidates.

I chose the one who has been there longer.

1. He has proven himself time and again over two years. Good work and dependablitiy should be rewarded highly. Anymore it's so hard to find employees that will hang around that long!

2. Since he has been a good worker for so long if a kid who has only been there a few months gets employee of the month instead of him it may be the wedge that breaks the chain. Sure the other kid has been a good worker for a few months but there's nothing saying he won't up and out tomorrow. Go with the person who has proven, through time, that he's REALLY in it.

Maybe you could get a little bulletin board and put "Such- and- Such Dept's Employee of the Month" on it. Decorate it up a bit and give your personal employee of the month a gift card or buy them lunch or something.

I mean, really, it'd be great if someone from your area got the store wide employee of the month but they may not. Someone from another area may get it.