Where is that cat anyway?

Late last fall it came to my attention that someone I wanted to
reach at Iron County Courthouse on a Friday afternoon wasn't
available. That's one of those things that became a typical mental
note, because I know that A) it might have been a legitimate
absence and B) I know that some people like to sneak away
from work to start a weekend a bit early.

Earlier this year there was another occasion to contact the same
person, again on a Friday afternoon. Honestly it could have waited
till Monday, but with a one incident history I wanted to know what
would happen. I wasn't really surprised when the office was
unmanned  a second time.

So the following week I found a reason to appear to that office in
person on a Friday afternoon. I found the office open, empty, and
with the lights on as though the county employee had stepped out
and would be back from wherever in the courthouse business had
taken them. But no such luck. I went back after 4PM to find the
same situation.

I did find it odd that I got the following email the same day. "Why
don't you check into the schedules of the people that work in the
courthouse? It seems like they don't like to work 8 hour days."
Perhaps someone became aware of my interest and was
urging further attention to the matter.

And this past Friday, May 3, 2013, I repeated the experience. I
picked up a document from Joan Luhtanen, only to find the target
office lit up and vacant once again. The pattern is now established.

Every management curriculum, from the shortest course on
supervision right through to a full blown MBA program teaches
that a good manager must randomly check the work habits of all
employees. The classic example is that a factory manager should
occasionally arrive early and walk in through a back door at his
factory in a surprise inspection to see what the workers are doing
when the shift starts. Are they in the cafeteria having coffee instead
of working? Is everyone there or has someone punched time cards
for tardy friends?  Are salaried workers at their desks at the
beginning of their shift? And are they there at the end of shift,
especially on Friday afternoons?

These elements of good personnel management are so well
established that they can even be called ancient. But there is
clearly no supervision of county employees at the courthouse,
and it is apparent that supervision has been non-existent for
a very long time.

Where are the members of our elected County Board, the
folks the taxpayers of Iron County have entrusted with the
running of the county on our behalf? We are paying to have
employees present and at attention, ready to serve, during
regular business hours. We certainly are not getting what we
pay for when offices are empty during regular business hours.

Do we blame those county employees who are stealing our
time? Yes! Do we blame the County Board for failing to
properly supervise the employees? Yes!

Note to all members of the County Board. Please fix this
immediately. It isn't difficult to do. We should not have to
introduce you to a standard chapter from a management
textbook that explains why it is that no manager can ever
be a friend to an employee. That's one of the reasons for
never promoting from within.

Bill Vajk