Terminated Employee Requesting Severance
JCInfo
41 Posts
Background information:
The 28th of November, we hired an employee who had senior sales experience, an mba and other skill sets we were looking for. However, he did not have specific experience in our industry. He felt he could learn the industry because of his other skills, he knows one of the partners & it was determined that we would give him an opportunity.
While his performance during the introductory period was not stellar, we had nothing in particular to point out to him as 'not acceptable', though I had several managers come in toward the end of his introductory period to comment on his slowness, perfectionism, etc.
He had been given several small projects to complete & had done a satisfactory job and was pushing for a big project. Because of his experience, the manager for his department gave him a very big task that if completed well, would significantly increase business. He was given specific instructions on who to involve in the project, where to go for information, etc.
His experience as a senior sales employee & his mba should have provided him with the tools to complete this project. While it did require knowledge of the industry, many other employees, including managers were willing & able to provide documentation, policy & procedure, etc.
However, he chose not to follow instructions & do it his own way. Several days into the project, his manager checked with him to see where he was at, quickly realized he was not going to be able to pull it off & had several other managers assist the employee in completing the task. While these other managers worked 15-16 hour days for a week, including weekends, this employee would come in at 9:00 am & leave at 5:00 or 5:30 and didn't seem to be in the least concerned about the project. Fortunately, the project was completed & we are awaiting the results.
On the unfortunate side:
a) the completion of this project occurred after his 90 day introductory period
b) feedback on his performance also occurred after his 90 day introductory period and he is completely in denial regarding his performance. All the managers have provided me with documentation on the project & have stated that the review at the end of the project was not pretty for him
c) his manager met with him last Friday and told him he would be willing to give him another chance, but requested him to present 'why he was valuable and why we should continue to work with him'. He was asked to put together a 'personal development plan' to present for discussion and his manager was willing to continue to work with him if at all possible. The presentation included 5 slides of a power point presentation & had no substance to it at all. There were multiple spelling & grammatical errors & the reasoning was scrambled.
d) I met with his manager to discuss the results of the presentation & it was determined that it would be in the best interest for all to let this employee go.
e) in my meeting with this employee & his manager to let him know that we were letting him go because of his inability to lead this project, he stated that all the managers have told him he was doing a great job when asked. In his words, they gave him an 'qualified yes' to his question. He is completely dismissing that he in any way did anything wrong & stated that his manager made the mistake in hiring him, and it's wrong that he (the employee) and his family is suffering because of his managers error.
f) No severance package was ever discussed, but he is now demanding that we give him a severance package.
He is 2 weeks beyond his 90 day introductory period . . .and I do not feel that we should go down that road. However, while I have documentation from all managers involved, I was not present during the verbal discussions.
Any advice?
Thanks so much
The 28th of November, we hired an employee who had senior sales experience, an mba and other skill sets we were looking for. However, he did not have specific experience in our industry. He felt he could learn the industry because of his other skills, he knows one of the partners & it was determined that we would give him an opportunity.
While his performance during the introductory period was not stellar, we had nothing in particular to point out to him as 'not acceptable', though I had several managers come in toward the end of his introductory period to comment on his slowness, perfectionism, etc.
He had been given several small projects to complete & had done a satisfactory job and was pushing for a big project. Because of his experience, the manager for his department gave him a very big task that if completed well, would significantly increase business. He was given specific instructions on who to involve in the project, where to go for information, etc.
His experience as a senior sales employee & his mba should have provided him with the tools to complete this project. While it did require knowledge of the industry, many other employees, including managers were willing & able to provide documentation, policy & procedure, etc.
However, he chose not to follow instructions & do it his own way. Several days into the project, his manager checked with him to see where he was at, quickly realized he was not going to be able to pull it off & had several other managers assist the employee in completing the task. While these other managers worked 15-16 hour days for a week, including weekends, this employee would come in at 9:00 am & leave at 5:00 or 5:30 and didn't seem to be in the least concerned about the project. Fortunately, the project was completed & we are awaiting the results.
On the unfortunate side:
a) the completion of this project occurred after his 90 day introductory period
b) feedback on his performance also occurred after his 90 day introductory period and he is completely in denial regarding his performance. All the managers have provided me with documentation on the project & have stated that the review at the end of the project was not pretty for him
c) his manager met with him last Friday and told him he would be willing to give him another chance, but requested him to present 'why he was valuable and why we should continue to work with him'. He was asked to put together a 'personal development plan' to present for discussion and his manager was willing to continue to work with him if at all possible. The presentation included 5 slides of a power point presentation & had no substance to it at all. There were multiple spelling & grammatical errors & the reasoning was scrambled.
d) I met with his manager to discuss the results of the presentation & it was determined that it would be in the best interest for all to let this employee go.
e) in my meeting with this employee & his manager to let him know that we were letting him go because of his inability to lead this project, he stated that all the managers have told him he was doing a great job when asked. In his words, they gave him an 'qualified yes' to his question. He is completely dismissing that he in any way did anything wrong & stated that his manager made the mistake in hiring him, and it's wrong that he (the employee) and his family is suffering because of his managers error.
f) No severance package was ever discussed, but he is now demanding that we give him a severance package.
He is 2 weeks beyond his 90 day introductory period . . .and I do not feel that we should go down that road. However, while I have documentation from all managers involved, I was not present during the verbal discussions.
Any advice?
Thanks so much
Comments
It sounds as if it was the right move for you to let him go. Sounds as if he is the type of person that doesn't see anything he does wrong and won't take ownership for his mistakes/short comings. I would just say it is a bad match (which it sounds like it is). You will have to pay unemployment, but I can't believe it will be that much due to the length of time in your employee. Don't try to argue or rationalize with the former employee. He will never understand. Just say that it was a bad match.
(PS I just wondered if anyone ever said anything to him or ask him why he didn't devote the same amount of time that the others working on the project did... unless they didn't want him around. I think that in itself shows that he had no clue.)
Hope you are able to move on after this. (You also didn't say if the partner that knew the person was upset about their being released.)
E Wart
As to the partner, I was concerned about it, to the point that he was personally contacted before the termination took place, and again afterwards to discuss it. Apparently he didn't know the employee well enough for it to be an issue . . .thank goodness!
Thanks for your feedback!
JC
Tell him good luck.
My $0.02 worth,
The Balloonman
No soup for you!
PORK