You're Good, You're Good, You're Gone

Written for The Nova Scotia Business Journal

A Guide to Letting Go

Hopefully you never have to deal with this – as it is easily the toughest task in the business – but sometimes people don't fit the company and you need to release them to find their perfect fit elsewhere.

This has to be done fairly and ethically and like most things, it needs to be done so that there aren't the go complications.

In our sales leadership program we discussed many things and one is a process where hopefully a non-productive employee makes the self discovery that they aren't suited to the company and the position they have. The manager's role is to ensure they get the message and any dismissal is the "slowest bullet in the world". There are only a few situations where dismissal is immediate and without warning.

We want to avoid the "you're good, that you're good, you're gone" scenario where the employee is totally surprised and the company find themselves liable for wrongful dismissal. The process is one that avoids these unfortunate situations. The key is documentation. It must be written and needs to be placed in the person's employee file. It must also be specific with a description of the full expectations and consequences spelled out in a series of four memos.

Memo 1

The first notice should be mostly a reminder. For example: "when you were hired we review the job description and I thought you understood that you were expected to provide a monthly behavioral cookbook outlining your sales activities for the month based on the 'cookbook' form provided. This is essential because..."

The memo will continue to specifically ask if they need help in understanding and completing the cookbook process and reinforcing the specifics of what is expected and when, plus an invitation to provide help.

Memo 2

The second notice has a tone of concern. "I am deeply concerned that over our five months together you have failed to complete your monthly cookbook business plan three times. This is unacceptable because it affects the workflow of several other people and my ability to..."

Memo 3

The third letter is a final consequence notice. "Unfortunately, you have not responded positively to my request for a monthly cookbook and continue to ignore company policy. Failure to file these reports at the beginning of each month will result in your dismissal from the company. If cookbooks are not on my desk each Monday morning as described, we have no choice but to consider this a breach of your contract with the company and steps will be taken to end the contract. I would preferred that this not happen."

Memo 4

Finally, the fourth letter relieves them from their position. This is a short version of what should be taken seriously and with as much compassion as possible. It allows both the company and the employee to have full, honest, and direct communication and that is fair.

©2012 Sandler Training Inc. (www.atlantic.sandler.com) is an international sales and management training/consulting firm. For a free copy of Why Salespeople Fail And What To Do About It, call the Sandler Training at 902-468-0787 or e-mail salescareers@sandler.com

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