Table of Contents
Case 1
Recently, in a familiar company, the sales director announced to some regional directors that if they did not improve their sales performance by May 1, they would be fired.
On one hand, he acted somewhat nobly—he gave a warning. He also tried to motivate the regional directors to work. But what actually came of it (or will come of it)?
In fact, it’s the sales director who is looking for easy motivation tools and the “stick” — the simplest option that also satisfies his ego. The sales director doesn’t even want to go and ask people what they’re struggling with and why. After all, the problem might be systemic, and it could even be with him.
What do regional directors do? That’s right — they immediately start looking for a new job. What happens to their productivity? Does it increase? No — it decreases. What happens to the productivity of the other directors in light of the decline in productivity among the so-called “motivated” ones? It also decreases. They got what they fought for.
Case 2
Once, when I was a pioneer in a camp and the kids were getting rowdy at the disco, the head counselor came on stage and said that if the chaos didn’t stop, the disco would end and everyone would have to go back to their tents. The most important thing was that everyone understood the disco wouldn’t actually end and no one would go to their tents before 9 PM, because if there were no activities in the evening, it was the worst scenario for the counselors and supervisors. It’s not effective to scare kids with impossible threats as a “final warning.” The children quieted down, not because they were frightened, but because they were simply made to understand that their behavior was unacceptable.
How should it be done?
- Never threaten anyone. Do not use negative motivation as a working tool. Don’t growl at the dog.
- If you dislike someone, you need to have clear, objective criteria for their unworthiness that apply only to them and no one else. If you want to get rid of a group of ineffective people, do the same—carefully select a short list and prepare thoroughly.
- Don’t warn anyone about anything. If you don’t like a person, it’s better to fire them and give them three months’ salary as a severance than to warn them about the dismissal and then pay not only their salary for three months but also have a demotivated person occupying a position that could be filled by someone else, which can demoralize the rest of the team.
- If you want someone to work better, the worst thing you can do is threaten them with dismissal. Maybe, yes, maybe they deserve such threats. However, as long as you haven’t actually decided to fire them, stick to positive motivation. After all, you care about the results, right?
- Carefully consider the decision to fire someone if you don’t have a replacement in mind. Someone needs to fill the vacant position, and having any employee is better than having none at all. The exceptions for taking drastic measures are criminal behavior and a complete lack of enthusiasm (motivation). In other words, the exceptions are cases where it is indeed better to leave the position empty than to keep such an employee.
- Any mass layoffs should be done quickly, in one day. The general rule is: bad news should be concentrated, while good news should be spread out over time. A lot of small good news is better than one big piece of good news. Conversely, many small pieces of bad news are much worse than one big piece of bad news.
- After the dismissal(s), it is important to explain clear and specific reasons for the layoffs to the remaining employees in order to avoid demotivating them. Additionally, a promise should be made that no reprisals will be taken for the next X months. The phrasing of this message could be: “The next performance review will take place on [date]. Until then, the only reasons for dismissal will be criminal activity and lack of enthusiasm.”
- It’s not worth calling people from other cities for a dismissal. It’s better to go to them yourself, having all the documents ready for any outcome of the dismissal negotiations.
- There should be at least two options for termination for the employee to choose from. The format of a “false dilemma” is very relevant here.
- Well, that’s probably it.