How I wish that any Creative Director, CEO or whatever head honcho there is at an ad agency would read this. If I had any cojones, I would copy and paste my post and send it to a few people I know... Oh well. Here it goes.
I have a business. I understand that sometimes people cannot give their 100% for some reason and it's your damn right if you want to fire someone. In fact, you can fire people for just about any damn thing you want. I have seen my fair share of Black Fridays, where all of the sudden loads of people are packing their shit. I truly hate those kinds of days. Most of all, when you think... damn, it would have been me. The last one I had to watch was truly horrifying. 15 in a day. I saw people that had worked there almost a lifetime. People that were just starting out and had all the hope in the world. People with sick (and I mean really sick) children, who had to pay loads of cash to keep them out of danger. That last time I got really mad, because I thought... Damn. Instead of firing that young dude who has left his ass working here, maybe, just maybe, the CEO should stop buying stupid Mercedes Benz or paying for his wife's boobs over and over again and save up some damn money. But no, the shit hit the loving fan and wouldn't you know it, many good decent people were left with a box on a street.
The thing that bugs me the most are the excuses. You didn't perform to our expectations. Um. Great dude. But. Weren't you supposed to write down what you wanted out of me first? If I am working my ass off, busting Saturdays and Sundays here, getting you your Malboro Lights when I go get my extremely late dinner... you maybe, just maybe should have pointed out my faults just in time for me to fix them? I know of one great friend who got fired and their excuse was... Um. Nothing! They told her she was great, she had worked a lot, but... well, we are just looking for another thing in this position. Like what? They couldn't say.
Look. It's ok, fire away. It's your damn agency. But at least have the decency to tell it like it is. If you feel your employee is not doing what you wished for... fuck! Do something about it before firing their asses! Whatever happened to having a nice chat with the chick or dude who is making a mistake and working together to fix it? Most of all, when that person might use the chance to do a better job? Look. Between your Golf Lessons and your bullshit dinners with clients, there must be a 20 minute gap where you can sit down with your employees and tell them what you need. If they are getting to work late, tell them. If they are making mistakes, try to give them ideas on how to avoid them.
Just, for the love of God, don't fire people just because you can. And if all hope is gone, at least say what really happened to their face. I fired you because I didn't like how you scratched your ass in front of the coffee machine last Thursday. I fired you because you didn't want to kiss my ass strong enough to leave a mark. Say the damn truth! Because if you give us shitty remarks and don't tell us what we did wrong, we will do it again without knowing.
Hey! You! CEO's! Cojones. Look them up. Then, buy yourself a pair.
2 comments:
Experience has shown me that people "at the top" will do anything to cover their ass, even if it means throwing some other person's ass out for no explainable reason.
There's also a power/facist thing going on, like "I had a rough week, so let me blow off some steam and get my masculinity back by making someone else feel like crap." A very childish approach, but common nontheless.
Unjustifiable layoffs is a thing of this industry, as you said and as I have also lived, there are such things as a Black Friday.
"Pick up your shit and leave and please don't let the door hit your ass on the way out so we don't have to pay for insurance."
Why did your friend not get a proper response and was instead offered something lame? Simple. They need to say something lame taken out from the playbook because if they say the truth they can get sued for wrongful termination of a job position.
Now if you are someone's shit list, and trust me, most of us get to be in at least a few of those for reasons ranging from jealousy to illogical annoyance, then you will be watched like a hawk and any minor fuckup will be just cause to can your ass.
Fair? No. Frequent and common? Yes. Will it change? No. Can we do something about it? Yes. Forget about becoming part of the family, do your job and every time you get a job offer, put it to the big guys, ask for a raise and if you do or don't get it, leave anyways so they feel what it's like.
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