http://blog.tovamedia.com/firing-an-employee-with-cancer-right-before-thanksgiving/ Internet Marketing for Health Care Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:39:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 http://blog.tovamedia.com/firing-an-employee-with-cancer-right-before-thanksgiving/comment-page-1/#comment-102 Gail Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:39:11 +0000 http://blog.tovamedia.com/?p=10#comment-102 This was exactly the article that we needed to read. We are a small office of 6 women, who know that a current employee is not the right fit after 5 months of being employed here, but she has tried her best. In addition, she was already friends with a team member who works here (bad idea!), so we worried about what repercussions we would face when firing her and we want to do everything we can to make the transition easy for her. The thought of firing someone during the holidays (even without Cancer) is horrifying. But, to continue to pretend that she is enhancing this team would be even worse. During the holidays we have Christmas Parties and a staff retreat, and it seems like the longer we fail to face the facts and do the right thing, the harder it becomes to actually go through with it. Our solution after reading this, is to offer her a severance package of 2 weeks pay and any paid time off she has accrued. This way she will still be paid another 2 weeks, have benefits until the end of the month, and be able to use that time to find another job. We have never offered anyone else a severance package, but these circumstances seem to warrant it. We are like a family here and these decisions will affect everyone. Thank you again for your insight. This was exactly the article that we needed to read. We are a small office of 6 women, who know that a current employee is not the right fit after 5 months of being employed here, but she has tried her best. In addition, she was already friends with a team member who works here (bad idea!), so we worried about what repercussions we would face when firing her and we want to do everything we can to make the transition easy for her. The thought of firing someone during the holidays (even without Cancer) is horrifying. But, to continue to pretend that she is enhancing this team would be even worse. During the holidays we have Christmas Parties and a staff retreat, and it seems like the longer we fail to face the facts and do the right thing, the harder it becomes to actually go through with it. Our solution after reading this, is to offer her a severance package of 2 weeks pay and any paid time off she has accrued. This way she will still be paid another 2 weeks, have benefits until the end of the month, and be able to use that time to find another job. We have never offered anyone else a severance package, but these circumstances seem to warrant it. We are like a family here and these decisions will affect everyone. Thank you again for your insight.

]]> http://blog.tovamedia.com/firing-an-employee-with-cancer-right-before-thanksgiving/comment-page-1/#comment-101 Annalie Killian Sun, 29 Nov 2009 02:54:44 +0000 http://blog.tovamedia.com/?p=10#comment-101 Hey Ron, a great and provocative blogpost- no matter from which angle you look at it, but the most important point is the last- what to learn from the painful exercise, without the guilt trip! I find it enormously enlightening when we do anonymous employee surveys in large corporations to see how much resentment can build up in a team when one member of the team is a consistent under-performer. Far from crediting you as the boss with kindness and generosity of spirit as a person who tolerates diversity and make allowances for the fact that people have different gifts and contribute in different ways, employees have a sensor that knows when the scales tip and one team member creates that tipping point. Its the leader's role to either lift that performance BEFORE the tipping point is reached (my theory is that once the tipping point has been reached the credibility damage is too hard to recover from) or to remove the person. But, your team also judges you on HOW you remove the person. Even if they thought the under-performer SHOULD go, they want it done in a way that ensures the dignity of the person. (your point 3 above). Leadership is both the toughest and most rewarding thing we can be challenged with, and the responsibility and rewards are enormous. Thanks for wrestling with this very sensitive matter through a personal story. Hey Ron, a great and provocative blogpost- no matter from which angle you look at it, but the most important point is the last- what to learn from the painful exercise, without the guilt trip! I find it enormously enlightening when we do anonymous employee surveys in large corporations to see how much resentment can build up in a team when one member of the team is a consistent under-performer. Far from crediting you as the boss with kindness and generosity of spirit as a person who tolerates diversity and make allowances for the fact that people have different gifts and contribute in different ways, employees have a sensor that knows when the scales tip and one team member creates that tipping point. Its the leader’s role to either lift that performance BEFORE the tipping point is reached (my theory is that once the tipping point has been reached the credibility damage is too hard to recover from) or to remove the person. But, your team also judges you on HOW you remove the person. Even if they thought the under-performer SHOULD go, they want it done in a way that ensures the dignity of the person. (your point 3 above). Leadership is both the toughest and most rewarding thing we can be challenged with, and the responsibility and rewards are enormous. Thanks for wrestling with this very sensitive matter through a personal story.

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