Mayday! HR Disasters That’ll Make You Feel Better About Your Business

Real Messes. Real Lessons. Real Relatable.

If you’ve ever had a team member quit mid-shift, dealt with drama that would rival a soap opera, or found out your “HR system” is a sticky note taped to a laptop—trust me, you are not alone. HR disasters will make us stronger believe it or not. (Or at least give you a good laugh before you go fix it.) Here are some key disasters that I have run into in my 35 years of workforce experience. Throughout May, I will be discussing these further. You can see the example and a video that will make you laugh. Get ready. Here we go!

The Disappearing Act

Here is one that I dealt with recently that made me run after the person. “My lead manager quit during their lunch break. Just never came back.” No two weeks. No warning. Just an empty desk and confused coworkers. Turns out, they had accepted another job weeks ago—and didn’t tell anyone. The fallout? Low morale, panicked rescheduling, and a lot of finger-pointing. It didn’t have to happen. My client stopped doing regular touch base meetings with the employee and that person felt like they weren’t cared about. That happens all the time. Appreciation and recognizing employees is the #1 reason someone will leave without warning!

The Fix: Always have a cross-training plan. And maybe a little exit interview policy.

Welcome Aboard! Wait, Where’s the Training?

This one was very recent, like a few months ago. A client had contacted me about a new group of new hires that were coming in, the very next day. They panicked because they have never had the proper HR compliance in place, let alone think about an onboarding process. They had normally put them on the floor without any orientation onboarding. Yikes! Here’s what they said, “Our onboarding was literally just a Wi-Fi password and ‘good luck.’” In the rush of a growth phase, this business skipped structure—and it showed. New hires quit within days, citing “zero training” and “massive confusion.” Sound familiar? Within our businesses, we are so quick to keep our focus on the bottom line and not enough hours in the day, that we forget to get a new employee set up right. This is one of the #1 reason why we have so much turnover in the workplace. 

The Fix: Even a simple checklist and a buddy system can save your retention rate.

Monday Flu & Friday Fadeouts

This one to me is one of the hardest issues companies go through regularly. “Half my team mysteriously calls in sick on Mondays. The other half leaves ‘early’ on Fridays.” It’s not a coincidence—it’s culture. Patterns like this usually mean burnout, boredom, or bad leadership. (Yep, I said it right here, “You need a tune up.” And yes, it’s your job to find out why it’s happening. Culture is all about the company values. What are you as the business owner saying about “the why” behind why somebody works for you. If you don’t have a clue or what makes your organization click, neither do your employees. There is no value in coming to work. No goal to shoot for. If this is a regular occurrence for you, let’s change it quickly. Another client has had this happen over and over to them. They could not understand, “why” people did this to them. They offered donuts on Friday mornings and lunches each Monday, even threw in giveaways and contests but it still happened and it was a thorn in the owner’s side. 

The Fix: Conduct stay interviews and be honest about expectations (on both sides).

No Budget, No Bonus, No Retention?

This one came up just last month, “I can’t afford raises. Now my team’s eyeing the exit.” You don’t need a fat wallet to reward your people. But you do need creativity, transparency, and some damn good communication. Do you tell your employees, “Thank You” for a job well done OR is it an expectation you have that everyone just does the job? Here is my thought on that, if you cannot afford raises or bonus, be upfront about that to your new hires and your team. If an employee understands why the organization is on a slow down through truth and honesty, they are more intune to do more for you to build your organization up. Recognition does not have to be in the form of money. Appreciation goes a long way when it is sincere. (Saying that, do not show up driving that new Porsche.) If you cannot reward those who are on your front line, the worst thing you can do for morale is showing them you spent those dollars on yourself!

The Fix: Try spot recognition, development opportunities, flexible schedules—or just saying thank you like you mean it.

Friends, Family… and Firestorms

“I hired my cousin. Now I’m in a family feud and an HR nightmare.” Mixing business with blood can get messy. Keep them separate when at all possible. One business owner had to terminate a relative who was… less than productive. It caused such stress in that organization due to employees feeling like they had to take sides and all sorts of chaos occurred. Cue the group text chaos and holiday awkwardness. Don’t go there if you don’t have to and if you do, each person should have their own responsibilities away from the other. (Their own sandbox, per-say.) Clear boundaries are needed with the team when it comes to which family member does what and who they manage. The Fix: Policies before people. Put roles and expectations in writing—even for Uncle Bob.

Moral of the Story?

Every business has HR disasters. Given this, don’t think it is a death sentence for the business. The question is: do you learn from them, or just keep putting out fires? Extraordinary Workforce will  help small businesses like yours build real systems, real culture, and real results—without needing a full HR department. Need help turning chaos into clarity? Let’s talk. Because your job is hard enough without having to Google “how to fire your cousin” at midnight.