Howard Levitt · Postmedia News | Posted: a day ago | Updated: a day ago | 5 Min ReadBy Howard Levitt and Maxwell Radway
This is a textbook example of what a corporation must avoid when cutting ties with a long-serving, popular employee. Many lessons can be learned from how Bell Media handled LaFlamme’s departure that apply to small and large organizations alike. The peril of mishandling an employee’s exit is not limited to just massive media corporations.
What kind of send-off? For starters, permitting her to have a fulsome goodbye on national television. Perhaps, as with other anchors in the past, an advance public notice of her departure and a few nice tribute episodes. Treating people like disposable robots is never smart. Offering a departing employee small things, such as a proper goodbye and a chance to bid farewell to coworkers, helps smooth over potential upset. It can also ease the bitter feelings that come with all terminations.
Feelings of resentment and anger also fuel how litigious a former employee becomes. If treated with care and dignity, they are less likely to want to go to war with their former employer. But if they feel disrespected and mistreated, they are more likely to viscerally desire to fight back Ensuring that other employees hear about the departure internally before it is publicly announced is also critical. Internal blindsiding causes angst and uproar.