My 83 year old employee is not doing well, and I don’t know how to tell her?

What kind of actions are displeasing your clients?

Are you able to reassign her to tasks that do not involve client contact?

I’m sorry you are in this position. I employ an 80 yr old. She’s not as sharp as she used to be but still so great I’ll be very sorry when she is gone. Since I don’t know what type of business you have or how big a deal her mistakes were, it’s hard to to comment.
How much extra business do you have because you have an 83 yr old working for you? I’d look for a way to promote her.

This isn’t a personal matter. It’s a business decision. Can you afford to lose business? Do you want your reputation damaged? Positive word of mouth advertising is fantastic! Negative word of mouth advertising is destructive to your business.

Do you have legitimate reasons to let her go? Would you prefer to give her the option to resign? Are you willing to discuss with her what your customers are telling you? If you discuss the matter tactfully, she will see the position that you are in. Hopefully, she would want to remove herself from her position with your company.

Best wishes to you and your employee.

Save your business and her dignity. Let her resign.

83 and still working but probably some kind of decline.

You are in a business and need to protect that business. If you know the family you may want to warn them that you need to retire her. You need to figure a way of letting her down easy. Be honest, tell her there are numerous complaints and clients leaving because of her good intentions. That you feel its time for her to retire. Give her a severance pkg. Maybe do it as a layoff and then she can collect unemployment.

This is interesting. I have a family member that worked in an office setting until age 80. I suspect there were many of the same issues you mentioned going on. The owner told her they were concerned about her safety getting in and out of the building and that it was a huge risk for all. Somehow she accepted this and retired. The owner gave her a nice retirement celebration. That seemed to work for her. This is a hard topic.

If you don't want her to retire, is there another position she could do that wouldn't have her interact with clients?

Have you advised her of the client complaints? If you haven't then maybe you should find a tactful way to give her this information. How badly does she need to work - financially? If you have no other choice you may want to find a tactful way to suggest she needs to retire.

I think it is wonderful that you are concerned about her welfare and just haven't fired her.

Make a list of her disappointing actions and client complaints during the past year or two; be very specific.

Call her into your office and give her a photocopy of the list. Go over it with her, item by item.

Then ask what her thoughts are about this. Ask her what SHE would do if she were the boss and had an employee with a performance history like this.

She may see the writing on the wall and choose to resign.

You have to something sooner rather than later. Not only for your business but also her sake. Identify some specific issues, sat down and discuss the problem. Place her on immediate leave with pay. Have your staff organize a retirement party.

Is it possible for her to have a non customer facing / contact role? As you don't say what your business does and what she does within it it is impossible to look at options for an alternative role.
If this is not going to be possible, can you reduce her hours on medical grounds?
I think you have to start off trying to be nice and accept this is very important social interaction and feeling needed for her, but obviously your company cannot maintain someone who is having a negative effect.
You could ask your customers what they suggest and be honest with them and see if they can deal with it by going round her, or maybe some work from home.
It is impossible to emphasise enough the need to feel useful in an older person, but equally they need to realise that certain things are becoming beyond them. Try and be positive, sit down with her and have a chat about how she is finding things as well as how your customers are having difficulties - she may actually be keeping going because she feels she owes it to you and would actually like to do less. Until you start having the conversation you won't know how it will go, but don't try and plan it to the last detail - it won't go the way that fits your plan, it never does - just have notes on options and things you want to cover and start with an open mind. Best wishes to you both.

Do you know her family? Can you talk to them? Tell them to get her to retire. Can you tell her you can't afford an employee now. Business isn't good? Or something like that?
She might know she isn't as good as she used to be. I feel bad for both of you.

This is a rough one. I would have a list of client complaints prepared and in her HR file. I would also consult with an employment attorney to make sure you are doing everything by the book. As much as you seem to care for her, this is business. Your conversation has to be about how her performance and actions are impacting your business. And you have a documented list of complaints from customers or vendors. Someone with HR experience could let you know if she needs a written warning to improve her performance within a certain timeframe or if you could offer her a different type of position or if it would be better to let her go. It’s not easy being a boss sometimes!

If you are going to run a business and hire staff this is all part of the package. How would you handle it if this was a dedicated, 10 year employee who was 43? Do that.

I was in the same situation earlier this year. What you do is concentrate on what they can't do. Document each instance and consult with him or her. The steps are consultation, verbal warning, written warning, then termination.

You say to her what you’ve just said to us: you complement her intentions, and also let her know about the complaints. Then very specifically let her know what changes need to be made. Prioritize the important things, things that people complain about consistently. Do not nitpick. Then offer your support about how she might change things. Work on one issue at a time. Tell her you will have consistent check ins with her to see how it’s going. Be positive with her, if you really want to keep her.

It’s a lot of effort on your part, especially in the beginning, but if you believe she is a capable person with many good qualities, worth “saving”, it may turn out to be a win-win situation for both of you AND for your business. Good luck to you both!

Seems you stated clearly - and kindly - to us the problem. Tell her. If there is a position with less client contact, maybe she will accept that position. If not, give her a nice farewell benefit package.

I posted earlier, but have been thinking about this. Yes… at the end of the day it’s about business. However, this is lady is an individual that obviously is dedicated and wants to remain busy. Is there some way to restructure her job to tasks she can handle? Can you ask her to go part time? Can you ask her what her retirement plans are? My husband owns 3 businesses. I understand how difficult this is. He just went through something similar with his mom! He gave her tasks she could do efficiently.

One cannot specifically ask, but I cannot help wondering if the work performance is being impacted by cognitive changes, such as dementia/Alzheimer's type disease. An employer also has no right to get involved or contact family...but they may be well aware of changes themselves. So much of our self esteem (if not income) comes from work so this is heartbreaking, however as noted many times, it IS business. At first I thought of a dear friend who is an oral surgeon who had a witch of a receptionist that was very cruel, unkind, inconsiderate and no doubt lost business for him, but he was too kind and kept her on rather than having to retrain/rehire. Then I thought of my mother who volunteered for years and years at a non profit. Her cognitive changes were more and more obvious, some others tried to cover for her until I was ultimately contacted and asked to be part of a plot to dismiss her and then they would have a farewell party with punch and cookies. My mother and I have had an antagonistic relationship and my being involved would have done nothing to help that. I refused. But I made clear I understood, that it was in a way a business and they had to do what they had to. It was very sad. Karma apparently came back to them as sales were low and rent was high, and they shut the shop down anyhow. My mother was ultimately diagnosed with dementia, but for a long while she was getting dressed on her Wednesday and putting her ID badge on ready to go. Dad even had to take a picture of a big closed sign on the storefront to show her and eventually the memory faded. If one has the capacity to be compassionate, I would find other work for this person. If one might know an immediate family member I wouldn't ask for their help, but ask about changes they may have noticed.

I think Sunnydaze' response is by far the best. You sound like a very caring "boss".

So many of the comments have been based on how best to get rid of her. But have you yet had a conversation with her about all the concerns?

Are you in a position where you could take her to a work lunch
and discuss the issues and listen to whether she is aware. Maybe she is and needs guidance in resolving, or if she isn't aware, then discuss whether she could improve. Maybe she is having personal issues that she would like to discuss.

Also, is there a different position with duties she would be capable of.

In other words, as you are a caring person, have a conversation first and foremost, and if all of that would not work out, at least you both would know that you tried... not like a case of, oh there's a problem, let's get rid of it.

Caring attitudes can go a long way in maintaining retention of valuable employees.

Be gentle, yet honest and be clear that it is non-negotiable.

Be direct. Be grateful.

Be absolutely clear about what you want.

Frankly, it's very difficult to offer specific suggestions because we haven't received any additional details from kj1958.

You have gone way above your call of duty . Keeping a woman way past her years of employment shows you have a huge heart and care about her . But it’s time for honesty , tell her how you have cherished her years with you and everything she has done in the past . But be honest tell her about all the complaints your receiving and that your business is suffering because of it. A lady of her age should be at home enjoying retirement. If she needs to keep busy she can always volunteer somewhere .
Your business is your livelihood and are you able to continue to loose business.
Good luck talking to her I know it won’t be easy but you need to take control now. God Bless 🙏🙏🙏

Is this for real?
No business entity mentioned.
Hiring a woman at age 73 ... to do what?
Having a business and not managing responsibilities to serve client needs?
This doesn't make any sense. How could anyone maintain a business without telling an 'employee' what is required to do the job?
If this is a real question and a real company, you could be reported to authorities for neglect - or worse. It sounds like it may be time for you to retire your business.

My husband and I had exactly the same problem! We called and explained the situation to her daughter. She came, discussed the situation with her mom and other arrangements were made. Our (former) employee went to assisted living with memory care where she "worked" happily the rest of her life.
Good luck!

I once hired an elderly lady to assemble products, she was 75. Easy work and we were glad to have her. She needed company, a place to go and a little money.

She passed away while working for us and I'm glad to have given her some calm in her life. Her name was Dorothy.

I hate to say this as it is a sad, sad situation. Bless her she will "works" at 83 - very few do or can work and do a good job. I am in my present work for my 51st year and I will be 88. But I am unusual that I still do the impossible. I am also in my l5th year as a Power of Attorney to someone. In my case, fortunately, I am l00% with it and everyone knows it. However, your situation is different - apparently this poor soul has aging catching up with her but she wants to keep going. I honestly don't know what you can do or say to fix this so I think given the problems you are having, you just have to be honest and truthful with her. It will upset and hurt her but if she can't do her job properly, what can you do. Is there anything she still could do, like perhaps visit with people and just talk to them. I would search for a simple solution but I believe honesty here is what is a must.

Create a meaningful project for her that isn't customer-facing.

So, I am taking it that you do not want an EEOC complaint or a lawsuit, correct?

DO NOT CONTACT FAMILY!!!! It is a violation of privacy and against the law.

I agree with JoAnn about the layoff and unemployment. Eliminate the job and rename it something else. What many people do not understand is unemployment is rigged against people over 45. These people have to take absolutely ridiculous classes for self improvement. I am contracted to teach an intro to Excel and how to use Outlook. My class is people over 40 and people who have had Drivers Licenses revoked and cannot pay fees so they take the classes. So, she will be busy learning new skills.