The term “exit strategy” sounds so polite when we are talking about a failure to bring someone up from the depths of a performance problem, or problems (plural). Is it time to terminate the employer/employee relationship? Well, maybe, but maybe not. There are some questions to ask yourself before you do.
First, is this a deep problem that cannot be resolved? Meaning, does the employee have the wrong attitude, a lack of interest in improving, no work ethic or an inability to catch on no matter how hard you try? Or, are you working with someone who does try, who has the right attitude but for whatever reason simply might not be cut out for this particular role? You would likely use different exit strategies depending on those answers. One might be an exit from the company, the other might simply be an exit from the position. Here’s an example:
I had an employee -- this was many years ago – her name is Dawn. She was a great employee, great attitude, solid work performance, someone you enjoyed working alongside. When we sold our background search division, she was obviously someone we wanted to keep. We put Dawn, along with the manager of that department, through our assessment certification training course. All available positions required that training. Tony, who I wrote about just last month, was moved into our client service team. Dawn wanted to move to our analyst team, a position that requires writing technical documents for most of the day and we had a need on that team. She did great in the training, passed the exam with flying colors and was moved into the mentor portion of the training program for analysts which can take a couple of months.
There were struggles.
She knew the information and was good at interpreting the data; she simply struggled to put the interpretation into words on “paper.” Writing assessment reports did not come easily to her. It was not a strength. We both tried though. At the end of it all, it was clear she would not become an analyst. It simply wasn’t going to work. Despite the struggles, she always took the feedback well and honestly tried to improve. It seemed a terrible shame to have to call it quits. But, throughout our conversations, it was clear she could verbalize the information wonderfully. She was confident and articulate when speaking about assessment results.
Thankfully, we have a job here that requires that skill set. All our client advisors are fully trained analysts. They go through the same rigorous certification program and take the same exam, but they work with our clients on the phone instead of writing reports. After a few conversations, we transitioned her to the client service side. She was certified in the assessment, had a great attitude, and loved working for our company. We didn’t want to lose that, and she didn’t want to leave. She was, however, hesitant about working on the phone. Up to that point, her jobs had been more solitary in nature, so she had some nerves about a public-facing role.
The nerves melted away quickly. She was a natural, and clients loved working with her. We were all sorry when she decided to pursue a new career path. She’s a teacher now, and I’m sure she is doing an amazing job for her students. I sometimes catch up with her on Facebook.
The exit strategy from the role where coaching wasn’t working was not termination. Of course, sometimes that will be and should be the necessary next step. When you need to take that route, it’s important you are clear on exactly how to conduct a termination according to your company guidelines and any other regulatory policies in your area. Still, here are some overarching best practices that start during coaching.
We think it's a good idea to follow a progressive discipline process, which means you increase the consequences of failure to correct issues after the employee is given an appropriate amount of time to improve/correct. The time allotted depends on the problem. Is it a lack of knowledge or skills where retraining and coaching are required or is it a more concrete issue, like attendance, harassment or ignoring procedures?
The company should have clear, consistent policies in writing. Those policies should have fixed criteria that promote fairness.
Follow the same steps every time.
Step 1) Verbal warning. This step should still be documented -- everything should be documented. Keep it private, be clear and factual, have supporting documentation of the issue, ask questions to uncover a root cause, outline the step(s) that will follow if the issue is not corrected, and get agreement to fix the problem. Follow up in writing summarizing the conversation along with the actions that will be taken to correct the problem.
Be sure to meet to discuss progress.
Step 2) Written warning. Include all previous documentation, a statement about the verbal conversation that already occurred, a statement about what is happening now, and a statement about what will happen in the future if the necessary changes are not made. For example, “This is a final warning, failure to correct the problem by (insert date) will result in termination of employment.” Always be sure to follow employment laws and regulations. Seek counsel when in doubt.
Step 3) Termination. There is a plethora of information on how to conduct a termination, and it’s important to be aware of your company’s policies along with any regulatory considerations. The legal stuff aside, be sure to have all your supporting documentation and logistical considerations lined up before the actual conversation. For example, the return of property, the changing of access to the office and computer applications, shoring up of benefits like accrued PTO, and preparation of the final paycheck.
Know what you want to say and stick to it. Be clear and be quick. If you have followed a progressive discipline plan, the termination will not come as a surprise, so there won’t be a need to rehash it all. Stick to how the termination will proceed.
So, we’ve discussed two very different exit strategies. In scenario one, we were able to save a valuable employee in an unexpected way. In the other, we had to part ways. But really both have a happy ending. Being able to find a place for a strong employee who is not a fit for a particular job is a wonderful feeling, and of course termination is never easy but often a relief. It’s ultimately best for the company and for the employee not to drag out a situation that is going nowhere.
In any coaching scenario, it’s helpful to understand your employees’ traits, tendencies, and motivators. This is where The Omnia Assessment comes in. Personality data can help you structure coaching conversations, provide the right level of feedback, and promote effective communication. Call us to take your coaching sessions to the next level.
