Don't Let Your Compassion Start a Zombie Outbreak at Your Company
By Rod Lacey, Sunstone HR Yes, you heard me right, too much compassion in an organization can create a zombie outbreak. Curious?! Please let me explain. Let’s assume that Roger has been identified for termination, due to work performance. You could also swap-out 'work performance' for a simple layoff and the story remains basically the same. As you sit with the CEO and COO to review how to orchestrate Roger’s departure, the COO identifies that he lives near Roger, and that he knows Roger and his family are going through some hard times. He doesn’t ask to reverse the decision (because it’s a good business decision), but does ask if there is some sort of compassion that could be showed to Roger. What is decided is that Roger should receive what I refer to as a ‘ work-out’ period . Roger will be told that he’s being let go, but given 45 days to remain employed and look for work. The compassionate manager felt that it would be easier for Roger to gain employment i...