here on this subject. I was interested to hear other's perceptions and I figured they would help me know my approach in this situation. Kind of another sounding board for me. I appreciate the feedback good or bad. Truth is I agree with both sides generally. It feels harsh, but also, what the heck, communicate like you want the job now the you have it. Specifically in this situation I think we are making the right call to terminate. Lots of details CB doesn't know but here are a few.

-First she is not being treated differently- the other employee I referenced is the employee she is replacing but a couple days on to the job he let us know he had a week vacation planned for the next week. Was very jarring to find that out then for his manager but she okayed him taking time he did not have, which she had the authority to do. Policy has since been changed after that to not run into that situation again. Key factor regardless of policy is he at least spoke to his manager about it instead of leaving and sending a couple lines in an email after the fact.

-We went over the handbook and policies with this gal one day before this situation- she looked it over and signed off. I know she probably didn't read every part of it, which is normal, but that is the reason every company does that. She had the policies, she could have asked about them or reviewed them about the situation when it arrived.

-We posted the job with details that we needed someone local and not someone to move from out of state. I called her out of courtesy and curiosity to see why she was applying from Texas. She was already moving here and her home was already on the market. Her husband was already here with his new job but she was trying get here right away but wanted to find a job and sell their home before moving. Only reason we interviewed her is because she was already coming. She would not have even gotten an interview otherwise. This was discussed again in the interview process. We gave her more time than she wanted to start with. I feel bad that she moved and started for us but I'm not sure how we could have been clearer about what we were looking for.

-Communication regarding her schedule was discussed and communicated in the interview process. We talked about some of the scheduling problems that had occurred within the position. We discussed how this is not an open range type sales position, where you just generate business when and however you like. Onsite was expected and required. If you knew the business model then that part is immensely obvious. Not sure how to be more explicit other than try to create load of scenarios and treat her like we think she doesn't know what we are talking about, which probably would have been demeaning.

-This wasn't a factor in the decision and wasn't even discussed but I will just add that she has lots of work history and life experience. If she doesn't have the communication skills to know to talk her manager about leaving right after starting the job that seems like a challenge we will probably have again.

-We were not sure she would work out but liked her personality and energy. Her offer letter was very specific that she has a 90 day probationary period in an at-will situation. It states we are looking for the right fit on an intimate team that drives business and would be monitoring her professionalism and progress. I also spoke to her specifically about that because I wanted there to be no confusion that we we really looking to see if she was a fit. If you are unaware most jurisdictions, especially red states, respect a 90 day common law probationary approach to that employment stage because they know actual work will reveal a fit between employee and employer far better than an interview process will. Lots of leeway is given to terminate in or at the 90 day probationary stage.

-Lastly, this has felt weird and gotten weirder. The communication was weird of course and she has acted much less friendly, excited, interested in the job etc since she arrived. Half of the first day was spent with me, onboarding, training etc and it has felt like a different person that we interviewed. I chalked it up to nerves but have since talking to the sales department leadership, they felt the same. She sent the email and then no communication. She was given a laptop and cell phone day one but never even took it home with her. I have since reached out to her via her cell phone to talk to her and likely terminate but she has not responded or called back since yesterday. She was immensely responsive before getting the job. Literally, no one has said anything negative to her since she arrived or left that I am aware of, so why is she not calling the guy who orchestrated her hiring from interview to onboarding back?

Look maybe something more is going on for her that she doesn't want to share but similar to her lack of communication the conversation has to go both ways. Going dark at the end of day two of employment is just not gonna fly. Sounds like a lot of you have employers that are ok with that, which is great but we can't operate that way here. I would have loved to go through a legitimate collaborative process if she would have talked to us. Me being uncomfortable stemmed mostly from the abrupt timing of the situation but time has made me much more confident.

Its funny, each time my phone rings or text comes in I think "Here we go!" and then its not her.