An Alternative To Termination

SOLVING EMPLOYEE PROBLEMS AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO TERMINATION

                                                             By Norman J. York

About seventy-five percent of the candidates who come into outplacement today lose their jobs because of "fit" issues.  Something changes.  A new CEO comes in and brings along his own CFO.  Or maybe he doesn't get along with a member of the team.  In short, the marriage doesn't work, and in the long run, the change will benefit all concerned, if handled with consideration and compassion. 

Despite the fact that some "fit" issues cannot or should not be resolved, many can be if the firm desires to keep a person who might otherwise be terminated and is willing to take action early enough to address the problem and to formulate a solution before the issues grow beyond the point of remediation. 

First, even with competent outplacement counseling and support, job loss is a challenge that will continue to test the mettle of the displacement employee and his family.  While most outplacement candidates do find new opportunities commensurate with their former positions, the strain on their psychological, social, physical, and financial resources is a challenge that can well be avoided under certain circumstances.

Second, the effective cost to the firm of termination and replacement can easily exceed one hundred percent of the employee's total annual cash compensation when the cost of severance, outplacement, and search are considered.  Not to mention the indirect costs of lost productivity, morale, and trust on the part of remaining employees.

Finally, finding and keeping good people will become increasingly difficult as firms begin to experience the full impact of the poor quality of American education and a diminished work ethic on the part of available employees.         

A major thrust of the work of York Career Development, Inc. now, and in the future, is to intervene within an organization in order to remediate the interpersonal difficulties that are frequently the root of the "fit" problem itself.  I recently worked with a senior executive of a major corporation who had brought the organization through the dark days of the recession and had led it to an acceptable level of profitability only to find himself "out of sync" with his new boss, whose leadership style and philosophy were different.  Understanding the effective reality of the direct and indirect costs associated with the situation could have saved this valuable employee.

The time to initiate the remediation process is when things begin to go sour between an executive or an organization and an individual or group.  I frequently ask a client, when I am called in to discuss an impending termination, "If you could save this person, would you do so," only to be told, "No, we think it's too late."  Had I been given the latitude to work with this person in a Career Continuation Program, the only risk would have been the loss of a few weeks.  A few months ago, we began a Career Continuation Program with the controller of one of our high-tech clients.  Yet two weeks after we began to work with the individual and his boss, we all concurred that it was too late and that the employee would be better off to leave.  In a sad post mortem, the CEO said, "If we had brought you in six months ago, this thing could have had a different outcome."

I suspect that his words apply to many situations.

 

 

Madeleine York

York Career Development, Inc.

Houston-Austin

866-502-8258 office

512-565-8506 mobile

www.yorkinc.com

myork@yorkinc.com