Re: Dismissal without giving reason


"McGyver" <Greyprof@xxxxxxx> wrote in message news:U0lsf.192$3Y3.31@xxxxxxxxxxx
> I wouldn't agree that your approach is hard headed or stupid. Your approach
> is perfectly valid as a business judgment. There are two additional things
> to consider. First, my approach doesn't lead to dissatisfaction. If done
> properly, the departing employee will probably be reasonably satisfied, and
> will probably not be spreading poison. The remaining employees, not
> counting the few who will be anti-management regardless of what you do, will
> understand that the methods of termination are sensible business practices,
> and will not feel threatened, devalued or even disappointed. Normal
> employees don't feel they are being treated like an embezzler just because
> your business policy requires that the same person must not be assigned to
> deposit customer checks and reconcile bank statements.
>
<snip>

Your approach is both sensible and humane. There are unfortunate cases in which
an employee is a potential danger or an actual criminal, but in my experience these
were rare. Perhaps I was just lucky, but performance problems were more usual
(until the downsizings hit). I found the best approach was to avoid two things --
surprise and public humiliation. The first was accomplished by a work plan, including
a review schedule agreed upon by both employee and manager. The second was
effected by making the departure as private as possible. We invited any office mates
out of the area, held the sign-off at lunch time when few people were around, and
assured the ex-employee that explanations for his absence would be that he had left
to pursue other opportunities. (I say "we" because I always had a second manager
with me.) Discussion was limited to those topics that assumed the decision was
irrevocable.

I once had an employee who failed to complete an important assignment and then
left on a (planned) extended vacation. He returned tanned, rested, and unawares
into the teeth of my disapproval. He'd thought he'd completed his work, and his
surprise was complete. He ended up screaming at me for several minutes, during
which time I resolved to try harder not to surprise subordinates. He also got
another chance instead of being escorted to the door. It worked out.

Deadrat

> McGyver
>
> "FranklinZ" <FranklinZ@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:gZednYw28LC8OSzenZ2dnUVZ_s6dnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >I know you know what you are talking about, and if I were in California I
> > would be glad to help keep you in business by being hard-headed and making
> > stupid nice-guy decisions. I do know that's the risk, and if I were
> > talking
> > about a situation where computer-related, theft-related, or
> > competition-related issues were actually at stake, I would definitely be
> > much more careful and would take the kinds of precautions that you
> > recommend. This would be especially true if I were talking about higher
> > level staff with access to confidential information, computer systems,
> > etc.
> >
> > Mostly, I was thinking about situations which involve parting company with
> > line staff in a small, human services setting. Even in those settings I
> > have had situations where I worked out a resignation with the employee
> > where
> > the employee left that day rather than staying around, and the employee
> > received a very fair severance pay. I know that doesn't negate what you
> > are
> > saying, but over the years, my experience has been that there can be some
> > benefits to using a more moderate approach. I think that one benefit in
> > particular has to do with the message that this approach can sometimes
> > send
> > to the other employees. The employees who remain behind also have the
> > ongoing ability to undermine and sabotage the organization in ways that no
> > manager could prevent. So, how they see their friends and co-workers
> > being
> > treated can sometimes impact how they carry out their day-to-day
> > functions.
> >
> > Again, I agree that my approach doesn't always work, and that there is a
> > certain amount of risk in using my approach in some circumstances over the
> > approach that you recommend. Helping a person out the door is always a
> > gamble, and the choice of how to go about that is never without risk. So,
> > yes, it's a matter of placing a bet on one approach over another. But
> > sometimes, in the case of line staff who don't really have access to
> > sabotage opportunities, I think the amount that is on the line is not that
> > much, and even if it turns out to be a losing bet there is no real risk of
> > harm to the organization.
> >
> > "McGyver" <Greyprof@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
> > news:PCfsf.4055$Q73.943@xxxxxxxxxxx
> >>
> >> Giving the employee time to find new employment is a good thing, best
> >> accomplished by severance pay. The to-be-terminated employee should not
> > be
> >> allowed to continue working at the company after the decision to
> >> terminate
> >> the employment is revealed to the employee. I know you think you can
> >> spot
> >> the ones who would sabotage the company's mainframe, copy all proprietary
> >> information, tell customers to send their business to a competitor, get
> > all
> >> keys copied or commit various other acts of bridge burning. But my
> >> experience is that business managers, especially the ones who are the
> >> most
> >> benevolent, are not good at reading the secret bitterness that a
> > termination
> >> sometimes causes. It's better to tell the person about the termination
> >> at
> >> the same moment that the exit interview starts. During that
> >> interview/procedure, get all keys collected without allowing the employee
> > to
> >> return to his office except under supervision to collect his hat and
> >> coat.
> >> Then change the locks, computer access codes and passwords. The
> >> ex-employee's personal property in the office should be gathered later by
> >> two people in the personnel or security departments, documented and
> >> forwarded to the employee. Those two people should also prepare a
> >> written
> >> inventory of all other contents of the office in case the ex-employee
> > claims
> >> that his bearer bond collection was in the top drawer. Believe it or
> >> not,
> >> all of the above can be done in a friendly way, especially when coupled
> > with
> >> generous severance pay and outplacement services.
> >>
> >> Many clients have told me their unfavorable opinions about the above, as
> > I'm
> >> sure you would like to. And they don't follow my advice any more than
> >> you
> >> will. Their belief that they are good mind readers keeps me in business.
> >>
> >> McGyver
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
>
>


.

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