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Should you avoid any confrontation and simply begin seeking her replacement? What would you do?

You are the manager of the costumer service of a small software manufacturer. The newest addition to your team is Kelly, a recent college graduate. She is a little overwhelmed by the volume of calls, but is learning fast and doing her best to keep up. As you performed your monthly review of your employee’s e-mail, you are surprised to see that Kelly receive an e-mail from employment agencies says “Kelly, I’m sorry you don’t like your new job. We have lots of job opportunities that better match your interests. Please call me and lets talk further.” You’re shocked and alarmed. You had no idea she was so unhappy, and your team desperately needs her help to handle onslaught of calls generated by the newest release of software, You know that Kelly did not intend for you to this personal e-mail, but you can’t ignore what you saw. Should you confront Kelly, and demand to know her intentions? Should you avoid any confrontation and simply begin seeking her replacement? What would you do?

Public Comments

1. Dont demand, just tell her you saw the email, and ask her if you need to be looking for a replacement.
2. I would avoid any confrontation because you don't know how she will react so be cool let it go!!!!!!! :-/
3. First, ask her if she remembers reading in the employee handbook that you reserve the right to monitor employees' on-the-job communications. Then, apologize for having seen it, but follow that up with "But, now that I know, is there anything you need to happen to make this a better experience for you?"
4. I think you should confront her... don't AVOID her... but, don't DEMAND to know what her intentions are, either. Just talk to her about the email in a non-defensive/offensive way and ask what it is she does/doesn't like about the job. I think this will make it a lot more comfortable of an evironment for theb oth of you in the long run if she does decide to stay. You never know... maybe she doesn't like the job because of harrassment or something of that sort in the workplace. GL!
5. Ask her as a follow up to your review if she is happy, now she is getting the hang of it. (Don't let on you have seen the e-mail). If she says 'yes', she is happy (or she's lying through her teeth - you'll have to take this at face value). If she says no, start lining up a replacement. The e-mail may be out of date, and it is in the interests of the agency to get her back so that they can get their cut all over again. In any event you should have a strategy in place (a temp) so as to cope with any contingency.