An extremely skilled salesperson loved one
was told on a Friday
to attend
a one-on-one meeting with his manager
in person
scheduled on Monday.
There was no meeting topic.
He talked to his coworkers
and the manager had scheduled
mandatory one-on-one meetings with them also.
One of the coworkers
had asked what the meeting was about
and was told…
nothing.
He was told to attend
and they would discuss ‘it’
then.
They all assumed
they were being laid off.
My loved one spent
a stressful weekend
reaching out to recruiters.
By Monday morning,
interviews had been set up.
He walked into the meeting
with his manager,
prepared to be laid off,
and…
they spent the hour
reviewing company policy changes.
No one was being laid off.
But the damage was done.
The interviews were set.
The employees had mentally disengaged
from their current employer.
If you set up
a one-on-one mandatory meeting
with a direct report
and give them no information
about it,
know that the direct report
is assuming they’re being laid off.
You’ve lost that employee.
And, this is much needed
tough talk,
you SHOULD lose them
because you’re being a sh*tty manager
and an even worse human.