So. We have this Polish Interpreter, and she's been around forever. She brings snacks, organizes all the parties, and she's like having an in-house grandma. Thing is she is also dead set in her ways, almost totally deaf, and falls asleep at random intervals. I adore her, and she is the bane of my professional existance because people either love or hate her, and half of the doctors refuse to work with her for fear they'll get sued. Recently I got the order that she has to go, and my boss and I interviewed replacements.
We had one accept: young, clean-cut, professional and certified, which my older interpreter is not. Since she has been around so long, she was grandfathered into the program, and she doesn't always adhere to procedure.
So my boss and I both wrestled with how to handle it and it comes down to this: neither of us can stand the thought of firing her, because we feel like ageists, but we also don't think she's capable of performing up to snuff. The new guy is coming in as a backup, and once he is in place, we expect nature to take its course and for her to eventually phase out. In anticipation of her demotion (in status if not in pay), I've asked her to stop occupying the desk she has had for years and store her things in the locked cabinet all other part-time Interpreters use. She won't. She stays at the desk all day, napping when she thinks I'm not looking. I've also asked her to enter her data into the computer instead of giving it to other folks to do for her. We're on the thrid day of her stalling me. She just left and promised she would try Monday, because she needs the extra time to concentrate.
On the one hand, I am aware she is giving me documentable reasons to fire her, and I'm almost grateful to have proof of her inability to complete her basic job functions. On the other, I know we are all headed down this road eventually, and I hate diminishing her sense of worth. Sooner rather than later I'm going to have to face the music, but I can't help feeling like an *** for it.
I suppose this is what management is about.