Keeping Commitments
Are you able to keep your end of the bargain?
Are you able to look someone in the face and tell them bad news?
Recently, one of our clients had to deliver some bad news about a terminated employee (see previous posts.) It is my understanding that her company does not allow the manager (or any management) to discuss the specifics of any employee disciplinary action.
I completely agree with this approach. I do not believe that details of disciplinary action should be discussed.
But here is one for you to think about…
The manager was giving a presentation about the current performance of the business. At the conclusion of this meeting, an employee asked about the cost reductions and headcount plans. So the dance began between the manager and the employee.
The manager gave a general statement that cost cuts were expected and that headcount would be impacted eventually.
The rebuttal statement from the audience member was ‘What about the employee that hasn’t been at work the last three days. What happened? Does he impact headcount?’
Now there are several ways the manager could answer this question.
- Not say anything about the termination, while realizing that there was a chance that the audience already knew about the termination.
- Dance around the subject by making general claims about overall cost reductions, etc.
- Answer the question directly.
Well, her response was ‘John Doe was terminated yesterday. His headcount number will be taken into consideration in overall organizational development plan. We are sorry that it came to this point with John; however, there were never any surprises in this situation. As a general rule, no one should ever be surprised with where they stand with regards to their performance. If you have any question about how your performance is viewed by the Company, ask me or ask your immediate manager for details.’
Gutsy thing for her to do.
The feedback that she received from several employees…
Thank you for being honest with us. Thank you for being consistent. Thank you for holding up your end of the bargain.
This situation was unfortunate. However, the way the situation was handled made me proud. We have worked with her for the last 7 months on accountability and consistency of message. She just earned her pay two times over with that simple exchange with the audience. Sure people will be hurt about losing John Doe.
However, she will continue to gain their trust and respect because they will always know where they stand with her with regards to performance.
