You are Personal Director/Office Manager for an
architectural firm. There are several teams of architects who have
Administrative Assistants, one admin assigned to each team.

You have also just hired a new Receptionist. The company has
a three month probationary period for new hires. On Week Two, she calls in sick
two days. On Week Three, she calls in and says that she has had a car accident
and will be in late. On Week Five, she arrives late for work four out of the
five days at work, “due to traffic.” On Week Eight, she tells you
that she has to leave early as her boyfriend is scheduled for surgery the
following morning and she has to help him with his preparation. She will not be
in since she has to be there when he wakes up from anesthesia.

Towards the end of her probationary period, she comes to you
and says that everyone tells her that she is doing a great job and that, in her
mind, she should be given a raise in pay.

You discuss this entire situation with the senior
management, who ask you what you recommend.

At the same time, one of the Admins, Jackie, has been coming
into work late on a regular basis. She arrives wearing dark sun glasses and has
a husky voice. You know that she sings in a cabaret at night. She has worked
for the company for eight years and is well liked by all of the people in her
team. She is up for annual review in one month.

How do you handle both of these situations?