Nov 19 2012

Questions You Should Ask Before You Rehire

Many years ago I was in the process of rehiring someone who left for “greener pastures”. One of my clients told me it was a bad idea and that he had a policy of never rehiring someone who left voluntarily.  Unfortunately, I didn’t follow his advice and my rehire left again in less than 18 months.  Short of having a zero rehire policy, how do you determine when it might be okay to rehire?

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Jul 10 2012

It’s Time For Another Layoff. How Do You Decide Whose Next?

At lunch today with two former colleagues, I was forced to remember a particularly difficult layoff decision I had made years ago.  I often ask myself, if I knew then what I know now, would I have made the same decision?

 

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Apr 26 2012

Who NOT to Ask When You’re Hiring & Firing

There’s no question that being a great listener is key to being a great manager and leader. But when hiring  or  firing someone, can listening to too many of the wrong people hurt you?  I learned the hard way that the  answer is yes.

 

 

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Jan 24 2012

Making the Tough Layoff Decisions

Question: I have a challenging situation. I recently started managing an employee who has been working for this corporation for over thirty years and for most of her tenure has had a pretty good reputation. However, over the past two-three years her attendance has become increasingly poor. Previous managers never addressed the situation and her ratings remained satisfactory. To make matters worse, the business unit she supports has been in decline...

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Aug 30 2011

Layoffs are Coming- Are You Prepared to Manage Through Them?

 

The economy is still in the tank, the unemployment rate isn’t improving, companies from Borders to Bank of America are laying off by the thousands. And this is the good news.

The bad news is that if you’re one of the managers that survive, you may have the job of telling someone they are no longer needed.  And since your company most likely chose not to outsource this task ala “Up in the Air”, what do you do?

 

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Aug 19 2011

Can you Over Communicate in Tough Times?

A recent Wall Street Journal article, Memo to Staff - Don't Panic by Joe Light, cited examples of how some  CEOs are communicating to their staff in these tough economic times.  As I read, I reflected on my experiences managing teams through five mergers and three recessions.  Though those weren’t good times, I learned some valuable lessons.

 

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