There is No Such Thing as a Perfect Termination

by Greg Moore, Customer Relationship Manager

In a previous blog, we discussed the importance of addressing poor performance from an employee as soon as it is detected. We set forth some ideas about how to conduct a performance discussion. As a manager, your first goal should always be to “turn around” the employee and set her on a good path. Nevertheless, sometimes your efforts will fail and you must consider terminating the employee for the good of the entire organization.

If you see matters trending in this direction, it is a good idea to prepare. Review all your notes from performance discussions with the employee. Set forth a written timeline of past discussions. When did you meet? Who was present? What was discussed? What commitments did she make with regard to improving?

Conduct a formal review with her, including a witness, and explain that she is being placed on “probation”. Explain precisely what this step means in terms of your own organization’s policies. And, prepare a document that shows:

• When you met previously
• What are the issues of performance that were discussed
• What did she commit to do to improve
• How long is the probation and how can she get removed from this status
• When will you meet next to assess progress

And, be clear that the next step if her performance does not improve could possibly be termination.

If you have done all of this and it still results in termination, you might very well be thinking, “Well, I’ve done my due diligence and tried to help her – at least this will be a smooth termination.” Don’t bet on it. There is no such thing as a perfect termination. Human beings simply don’t work that way. Even if you have consulted with your in-house experts and “touched all the bases”, there is still a good chance that something unexpected will come up. It happens. Do the best you possibly can to prepare for the termination meeting. Does your policy allow for a severance package? Under what circumstances? Will you provide any outplacement assistance? How will that be arranged? Feel confident in your actions or don’t proceed. Better to wait a day or two and get it right. Then, remember that no termination is flawless. Simply deal with any unexpected and lingering issues openly and honestly – applying the sound judgment of a leader.

How to Save a Disengaged Employee

by Greg Moore, Customer Relationship Manager

Think back to the last time you hired someone new into your organization. You went through a process, perhaps a lengthy one that that, to select and to onboard this new employee. Conversations were filled with high hopes and great expectations. She seemed delighted to be part of the team and you were happy to have someone with her skills join the organization.

After the initial euphoria ends, the focus is on the needs of the business and the contributions of the new employee. If all goes as planned, she will fit in well and make solid contributions to the success of the enterprise. That’s why you hired her, right? It’s great when it works.

Unfortunately, for some, the “honeymoon” is brief and within a few months performance issues become apparent. Regardless of whether the issues started revealing themselves “on your watch” or if they have been ignored in the past, they can’t continue to be overlooked. Whether the issue is tardiness, absenteeism, low productivity, or any of several others, it is important to begin documenting the poor performance as early as it is detected. You should hold conversations with the employee to ascertain what could be driving this behavior. Ideally, something can be discovered that will rectify the current condition and put the employee back on a good path. If not, a record of these performance discussions might become extremely important. It is even possible, should things truly deteriorate, that these documents could find their way to a courtroom or other venue.  So, document well and write for a broader audience.

Make no mistake, your goal as a manager should be to turn around the employee’s performance and help her find her way back to a maximum level of productivity. So, while the reality of the matter is the exercise of documenting any and all performance conversations could become crucial at some future date, any manager’s first efforts should go toward trying to assist this employee. You want her to succeed and you need to find out why that is not happening.

Here are some simple steps to take to make the meeting with this employee as productive as possible:

• Hold the meeting in private without distractions and interruptions.
• Include a third party in the meeting who could be a good listener and help offer suggestions. This person can’t be someone who is viewed as threatening by the employee.  It could be someone from Human Resources or another manager. It is not a “representative” – that is, someone who is there to speak for her and negotiate. That is a different type of meeting.
• Assure a comfortable setting. Coffee, soda, water – whatever. Everyone should relax a bit.
• Introduce the meeting with a simple statement such as, “Molly, I have been concerned about some things and I wanted to talk it over with you and see if we can find a better path.”
• Prepare and present examples of the poor performance.
• Allow the employee ample time to respond. Let her speak without interruption. Even if what you hear sounds like excuses to you – let her speak and “get it out.”
• Document what she is saying, taking good notes as she speaks, and summarize her comments back to her saying, “So, Molly, what I hear you saying is……”
• Ask the employee for improvement ideas – what can she do to improve?
• Close the meeting with at least one or two clear next steps that will be taken.
• Agree to meet again and select the time for the next meeting right here while in this meeting. This allows little confusion as to timelines – we will meet again at this time to discuss progress on these issues.

Sound easy? Sometimes. Let’s hope that all she needed was some direction and a little nudge. If not, well, more on that in a future blog.

Seems Like Everybody’s on Vacation…

by Outside-In® Career Transition Coach

Summer’s here, work has slowed, perfect time to look for that new job, right? Not quite.

Your schedule isn’t the only one to have slowed. Inevitably, the world slows, just like it does during those two weeks for Christmas and New Year’s. For the pro-active, aggressive job seeker, this can be especially frustrating because you’re amped up and ready to go…where’s everybody else?

First, just in case you haven’t figure this out yet:

• Your e-mail inquiries are going unanswered because the recipient is on the beach.

• Your phone calls aren’t getting returned because that decision maker is off with his family.

• Every Friday feels like the 4th of July because people are taking three-day weekends.

So instead of feeling de-energized and discouraged, take advantage of this time of year by focusing on more behind-the-scenes job searching and/or career development.

Research companies. Remember, whether you’re just looking to change jobs or are trying to get back in the market, you ultimately want to select your new employer as much as that employer selects you. So scour industry websites, read your daily newspaper and its website and develop your own inventory of insight. Within the BCA portal, we offer sites that lead you to a seemingly unlimited number of employers. Cliche alert: information is power!

Get social. Make summer’s laid back atmosphere work for you by setting up lunches, breakfast and/or coffee meetings to connect with friends and catch up with former co-workers. And while you’re at it, set a goal that at least two such meetings a week will be with a new contact in your industry or the field you are trying to break into. Hesitant? Read Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi.

Look inward. If seemingly no one’s out there to meet, interview you, hire you or make any decisions, work on yourself. Summer can be a good time to stop and think…“am I looking to get out of this job or to really make a good move?” “I know I want a new job, but why? What’s my goal?” Once you have these answers, you may need to develop a new strategy.

Maybe your last job ended and you’re at a new beginning. “What should I do next?” “What’s important to me?” “Who do I want to work with?” “What really are my salary requirements?” The career/job search book What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles lists these and other thought-provoking questions aimed to lead you to your next opportunity.

Freshen your resume. Does the information on your resume put you above your competition or just in the same ballpark? Think about your accomplishments, the impact you have had and the difference you have made on your jobs. That’s our focus with our clients. I suggest that your resume shouldn’t just say “hire me” but “look at the impact I have, how can you NOT hire me?” Consult trusted former colleagues by asking them about your impact, what they remember about you. Even if they don’t give you word-for-word sentences for your resume, they’re bound to spur your thinking.

Take a breath. No matter what the calendar says, job seekers need to pay attention to other aspects of your lives. Are you getting a change of scenery, even for just a day? Are you exercising? How about reading fiction or biographies so you spend part of your day focused on   somebody else.

Finally, give your mind a break. Maybe you haven’t heard back from a hiring manager because she’s on vacation. Or her manager is on vacation. Or a prospective colleague who wants to meet you is on vacation. One summer after I had an interview that seemed to go really well, a month went by with no communication. When I finally did get a call back, that was exactly the scenario. “Here I am self-absorbed in my job search and they’re off enjoying themselves,” I thought. Then when I started that job in late August, I was only too happy to hear about their vacations.