How to Part Company with a Smile
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
No
matter how well your startup company does, sooner or later you're going
to be faced with the fact that someone has to go. It may be a
disgruntled co-founder or it may be the intern that looked great on
paper but turned into a disaster when they walked into the office.
While
parting company is a tough thing to do, there are definitely better and
worse ways to go about it. There's an art to ending a corporate
romance on a positive note, and it starts with looking past the moment
of departure and into the future.
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Unlike
the big corporate machine where everyone is expected to fit in, a
startup company is a perpetually chaotic, anxiety-inducing
roller coaster of emotion that fits very few people real well. Chances
are the person you are sitting across from is just not a fit for any
startup company, let alone yours.
A
great way to set the stage is to explain how well you understand the
incredible challenges of being in a startup company and that it’s very
difficult for anyone to maintain their footing in this environment.
This isn’t about you patronizing your co-workers – it’s about
recognizing the fact that there are often very good reasons the fit
just isn’t right and using those reasons as a platform for departure.
In
many cases the person you’re sitting across from has had to endure a
lot of sacrifices just to be able to contribute at all. Even if they
didn’t work out as an employee, it’s a good idea to recognize and
appreciate the sacrifices they have made up until this point. Those
sacrifices were part of their contribution.
Leave the Door Open
Although
today you may feel like you can’t possibly get this person out of the
door fast enough, always be sure to leave that door open for them to
return. This may sound ridiculous, since the last thing on your mind
right now is ever seeing this person in your office again.
Yet
your corporate life is very long, and it extends down many roads. The
gal that just walked out of your office today may be the key customer
that hires you a few years from now. It may be the person that was a
bad fit in the formative stages of your company but is exactly who you
need three years from now. It never pays to be short-sighted when
winding up any relationship, no matter how tenuous at the time.
Leaving
the door open also shows a gesture of good faith. If people know that
they might have to deal with each other again in the future they’re a
lot less likely to spew fire and brimstone today. You may find that a
few years from now, after you’ve both forgotten a about what brought
you to this departure, that there’s a much better opportunity to
re-connect.
Send People off with Dignity
There’s
a big difference between just terminating someone and terminating
someone with dignity. No matter what the situation is, everyone
deserves to be shown the door without being crucified in front of their
peers.
Aside
from the fundamental respect of another human being, you’re also
setting an example for how you will treat the rest of the
organization. If all of your employees watch a person get humiliated
in front of their peers the first thing that you’ve instilled in
everyone else is that they will be treated the same way. That kind of
fear is incredibly unhealthy in any organization. (Unless you are a
pirate, in which case you’ll probably be just fine.)
Instead,
go out of your way to make sure that this person’s departure ends on a
positive and supportive note. Even if the rest of the organization
dreaded their existence, it’s important for you to be the bigger person
and show that everyone will come and go with dignity at your company.
Think About the Ripple Effect
A
departure affects more than just one employee. It creates a ripple
effect through the entire organization that’s impossible to ignore. If
you think that an employee walking out the door takes their drama with
them, you’re dead wrong.
The
gory details of what you’ve said, how the employee responded, and every
moment thereafter will be repeated in infinite detail inside and
outside of your organization. Think of the termination event like a
video clip on YouTube that is about to get re-broadcast endlessly.
A
simple, positive parting isn’t worth gossiping about. There’s no
story. But an ugly and bitter battle is something that will keep lots
of people talking for a long time, all at your expense. When it comes
to parting, creating as little drama as possible is absolutely critical.
Look at the Big Picture
Every
time you let someone go you’re changing the face of the company and
setting the tone by which it treats its people. If you can use this
opportunity to show that you’re supportive and respectful of the people
leaving your company, you’ll make both the people that work there now
and the people that will work for you in the future far more
comfortable with living in your world.