Poor Personal Hygiene

[dmsymr]

NEED HELP!
I need to confront a very valuable member of my staff with the issue of her hygiene. Basically, she smells. Other staff are asking me as manager to confront her but im unsure of how to go about it. Hints have been made over the past 4 yrs but i need to deal with the issue now for he sake of other staff.

How do I tell a lovely girl that she smells really bad???

[dot.hawkes]

I do not think you can, it may make the girl feel intinidated and belittled and lead to he throwing a sickie and then trying to sue you for bullying. tread carefully.

[society]

You should let HR department handle this.

[Black Noir]

Ive had to do this as an Empoyer, obviously it is easier if you try and keep a bit of distance from your staff, but if she relies and trusts you as her manager I would recommend the following.

You descritely take her to one side, so that other work colleagues are unaware of your discussion/meeting and say
"This is really difficult for me and I feel slightly uncomfortable in speaking to you but as the department manager it is part of my job to raise some issues which impact other members of staff. " "You are probably aware that when working in this sort of close office environment how you dress and what perfume you wear will always have a critic - Ive had it myself with a colleague being allergic to my fragrances some years back (Lie here) ...so I just wanted to mention that whatever perfume or deodrant you wear to work is having the same impact. If you wouldnt mind could you alternate what scent you wear to work so that we dont have xxxxxxx(pick one of the old inoffensive office dears) sneezing on us all day ?""

Hopefully this will send a message unless she is REALLY thick skinned or doesnt care so keep it light and friendly (if thats possible !!)

Good Luck :)

[Doc Spock]

I would be really subtle and say, Any chance of you having a shower before coming to work, you smell like a eunochs' codpiece,what, what.

[dmsymr]

Thanks Guys, I have to tread very carefully, as my HR department will tell me to talk to her tactfully. (work in a shop, HR dept is at head office miles away) As I said , hints have been made over the last few years and it really is getting silly now I have one member who wants to put in a formal complaint about her smell. I want to talk to her about it in a manner that doesn't involve everyone else, for her dignity more than anything else!

[bobtheturkey]

come in with a gas mask on?

[Pirate1]

You could please an antipersperant deoderant in her locker/bag/drawer. We did this once and it worked. No one had to say anything and she got the hint.

[stewey]

Discretely shoot her after getting a favourable response from a 'Help Wanted' advertisement!

[legend760]

pull her aside and tell her the score.
wash or youre out


subtley of course lol

[mrs_overall]

What are we talking here....B.O. from her pits, cheesey feet, bad breath or just generally unwashed?
If it's BO you could start a conversation about deodorants and ask her which one she uses/recommends. If she says she doesn't use one, I'd give her one I'd cunningly bought earlier and try to make a tactful remark about everyone should use one in this day and age, and blather on about the hot weather. You are going to HAVE to tell her one way or the other. Good luck.

[smudge]

If it were me, I wouldn't single this person out.

I would speak to her, saying:

"This is a tad embarrassing for me, but it's been brought to my attention that there's a stale musty smell within the office/workplace. I'm not quite sure who or where it's coming from, but I shall also be talking to other members of staff about personal hygiene & that it is very important to have a nice fresh aroma about the place".

Well words to that effect anyway.

If she thinks you are going to speak to others too, she might not be quite so offended. I'm sure she'll soon get the message!

[dmsymr]

Thanks to you all for your advice. it wasnt a smell that could be pinned down to anything as she always looked clean. As it turns out a few weeks ago their was a program on tv called 'help, I smell like fish'. It explained it all perfectly and has helped us all in the workplace to deal with it more tactfully. I.e not saying anything, as its more likely a problem that she has to deal with herself. I moved on within the company fortunatley for me but im still in contact with everyone their and its much less a problem nowadays!