Human Resource Question?

Question

You are the HR Director for a large manufacturing firm that is undergoing major changes. Your firm is in the process of building two technologically advanced plants. When these are completed, the company will close four of its five old plants. It is your job to determine who will stay with the old plant and who will be retrained for the newer plants.

One old plant employee is a 56-year old production worker who has been with your firm for 10 years. He seems to be a close personal friend of your boss as they are often seen together socially. However, in your opinion, he is not capable of handling the high-tech work required at the new plants, even with additional training. He is not old enough to receive any retirement benefits and there are other qualified workers more senior to him who want to remain at the old plant.

What would you do?

Answer 1

With the information you gave If it were me, I would keep him on but at the old plant.  Then when you do your quarterly evaluations, point out and show the areas where he needs improvement.  You will then have a paper trail or documentation in his file to show how you are trying to help him improve in his job.  If he continues to slack off then you have to do what's right and lay him off or terminate him.  Friend of the Boss or not.  

Answer 2

you have to keep him.

you can't get rid of him based on the opinion of "he's not capable"

unless you have documentation that he's not, like lots of previous write ups, etc.  

otherwise your speculating and guilty of discrimination

Answer 3

You need to do what is right and you have to artfully find a way to make that possible.  Everything in your scenario implies that the 56 year-old employee is not capable of doing the job.  The fact that he is a friend of your boss and will probably be laid off when the four plants are closed is a complication, not a reason to give up.  Closing four plants and opening two implies that half the people involved will lose their jobs, not just the one person in the scenario.

If you are convinced that he cannot do the job, arm yourself with facts, reasons, and a better solution for the company.  This may involve some research; who would be a better candidate for the spot, inside or outside the company?  There may be compromise solutions to consider, such as transferring him into another job laterally or at a lower level.  Or maybe he can be trained, if not in technology in something else that is necessary, like plant maintenance.

I suppose by stating his age, you want me to comment on possible age discrimination, since the 56 year-old is in a protected class.  This doesn't change the basic scenario at all, you still have to do what is right for the company and hire or transfer the best qualified person for each job.  It is not discrimination if you choose the best qualified person.