advice on a situation please...

[joko]

i have an assistant who at first was very keen...but very shy & quiet.
now however im quite angry with her as ive emailed & texted her around 10-12 times- as well as tried to call...& had no response at all for 2 weeks!
in fact some of the messages appear to have been blocked...
ive also since, expressed that im not happy & asked her why - still nothing!!
i am gobsmacked!
worst thing is, shes on work experience & weve no money to pay a pro so the production say theyre stuck with her as we need help...but im pretty pisht off & would sack her if i could.
i mean who goes on work exp & behaves like that? its rude & bizarre!
today i finally got a blunt response, just saying shed done something id asked & had emailed the producer...thats it...no apology or explanation or even any pleasantries in the message!
so my problem is...how do i treat her?
obviously i will be professional...but i cannot just act like nothing has happened, particularly if she continues this sort of nonsense.
inside, id like to utterly rollock her, but obviously i cant...

im just amazed really...ive had some terrible assistants in my time, but this is just weird.
her excuse was she just hadnt replied, shed been busy.
she is also acting to the others like she has no idea why im pisht off!
thing is she seems so nice, shes not a little snotty teen with attitude or anything.
my colleague thinks she just shy...but thats no excuse to ignore your boss!!
i just cant be doing with nonsense like this when we actually start on the actual main days.
any tips?
cheers

[mike11111]

Work experience doesn't last for ever. As soon as the time is up, get rid. Also, inform those who placed her with you in the first instance how dissatisfied you are with her performance, and that under no circumstances will you accept any placement from them in the future.

[joko]

thanks mike, yeh she will never work with me again, or anyone i know for that matter...however its actually a 5 week film shoot...which is obviously very time sensitive, and hectic and on a tight schedule...
if she messes me about on-set it could cost thousands, hold up the shoot - and affect my reputation...because the buck stops with me...
i have had to take the blame before for the actions of incompetent crew before and unfortunately most other depts and bosses dont accept that....they just want someone to blame..
i have also told the producer ...but because she played dumb they want me to just let it go.. i wish i could...but i think its going to get worse...
also shes freelance so no-one to report her too...

[Dris]

Do you think she may feel intimidated by you?

[zzxxee]

work experience from school ? so i'm guessing shes around 15??? probably feels a bit out of her depth have you tried writing a letter in a friendlish manner asking if she has any problems you can help her with ???

[bednobs]

i don't get how you are her boss, but you don't have the ability to sack her? How come yoou can't rollock her? did someone saddle you with her or did you pick her?
When you say you haven't heard from her in 2 weeks, do you mean she hasn't turned up for work?

ANyway, aside from all that, instead of rollocking her, give her a list of how you expect her to behave professionally

[Jemisa]

Did it ever occur to you she may be ill?
Send someone round to her house - - -

jem

[ChuckFickens]

I don't get how on earth a company has got in the situation that they are relying on a work experience girl!

[TTG]

Have a face to face meeting with her. She might have personal problems and work is just a pain for her at the moment.

[ummmm]

If I remember correctly Joko work freelance in TV. I don't think it's 100% consistent work. So maybe this girl gets moved about abit.

[bednobs]

perhaps you should get in touch with this user and offer her the job?
http://www.theanswerb...V/Question952874.html

[joko]

she is not a schoolgirl...not sure where you got that from...she is a college graduate, trained in the job...just inexperienced.

as stated, we checked if she was ok and she said quite clearly that there is nothing worng with her, she just hasnt replied...

i am her boss because i am head of the department, but not head of the company...they havent time to replace her

she is not in 'vital' role at all...its her first ever job and shes useless...id rather she wasnt there at all...but as i have said i thought she was keen so i gave her a list of tasks...only to find out days before the shoot she hasnt been doing them...minor jobs, but they need doing all the same and will take time.

i have decided to just have no further conact with her, except if i have to...but i will have to see her on set and give her tasks... but inside i just want to tell her to bu99er off

i have been as nice as pie to her to begin with, saying well done etc and encouraging her...she is porbably intimidated by now though as obviously my tone has changed.

i was saddled with her unfortunately, i could rollock her, but i dont want to start shouting the odds etc..i have emailed her a told her behaviour is unnaceptable and rude etc etc - and guess what ? still no reply!!

she is not a tea girl, she is seamstress...and i havent made it sound like anyhting other than what it is... i am just unsure how to approach this - i dont want to cause any on set atmosphere.

lol eddie