Fired, laid off, reduction in force, rightsizing whatever you call it. The basic idea is removing someone from their employment.
When the determination is made that its time “let go” of certain people, how do you decide whom to remove?
Selecting the wrong person could leave your company mired in mediocrity.
Be blind. Be blind to color, to age, to gender, to ability, to family situations, to what you pay them.
Select on performance. Look at the numbers. But not just the tangible numbers. Dig deeper. Look at the intangible numbers. What are intangible numbers?
In sales, don’t just look at the number and size of deals closed. Look at the number of doors opened. Look at the number of relationships built. Look at the number of positive qualities to his or her personal brand.
In engineering, don’t just look at the number completed projects. Look at the number of lines of code. Look at the defect rate. Look at numbers resulting from innovative ideas. Look at the quantity of leaders saying she has the ability to translate business needs to solutions.
In accounting, don’t just look at accuracy. Look at numbers of years of experience. Look at measurements of integrity. Look at the number of times the complex was made simple to understand.
It’s never easy to pink slip someone. But when you do, select on performance.
(image courtesy of Chuck Grimmett on Flickr)
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Todd Brockdorf
Better than Average Guy
Author, Speaker, Consultant
[email protected]
Download Better than Average: Excelling in a Mediocre World
