OK, I’m warning you, this is a bit of a rant. I’m peeved. I have no tolerance for abject, short-sighted stupidity.
Last week a close friend of mine (a senior software engineer) was fired without warning. He didn’t embezzle company funds, threaten his coworkers, or indeed commit any major transgression that would warrant such extreme action. First thing on a sunny Friday morning, he was called into a meeting and told that his job performance wasn’t acceptable. Believe it or not, this “You’re fired, get out now!” conversation was the first time his manager (or anyone at his company) had mentioned any problem with his work.
To add insult to injury, my friend was treated like a criminal. While he was being fired, they removed his laptop from his office without telling him. Then they told him to leave the building immediately. Weirdly, the only reason offered for his dismissal was trivial – unrelated to his core tasks, and contradicted by evidence. My friend was given no opportunity to discuss this decision. The firing was a done deal before he walked into the meeting. He still does not know the real reason why he was fired, and it’s unlikely he’ll ever find out.
Yes, I know this has become the common method for letting employees go, at least in the US – even though it really only makes sense in the most dire and rare circumstances. Such lack of communication and clarity on a matter of paramount importance is cowardly and cruel. Even worse, it’s very bad business.
Why should employers care? Aren’t surprise firings efficient? Don’t they prevent damage by “disgruntled employees?”
Absolutely not. Only the most naive executives and managers believe such corporate fairy tales. Disgruntled employees are made, not hired. Clear communication is the key to keeping employees “gruntled” in the first place.
The truth is, surprise firings are very costly and risky for business. That’s a shame, because this practice causes otherwise promising companies to rot away from the inside.
Here’s how that works…
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