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Terminations
|  | Our manager just fired one of the most popular people in the company. We all thought this person was doing a good job, but he told us that he was terminated because our manager did not think he was a good fit. Our manager is not communicative to begin with, and he has not said a word about this. Should we ask him what happened? |
|  | When a manager decides to fire a popular employee, the decision is never popular with the employees. Before jumping to any conclusions, it is important to remember that popularity is not necessarily linked to productivity. Your manager may have been aware of specific performance issues that led to the termination. You and your associates are certainly within your rights to ask your manager about this person's departure, but most managers tend to be discrete on these kinds of matters, and they are often advised to say very little in such situations. This should not be difficult for your uncommunicative manager. It will be more valuable for you to focus on a broader question, namely the caliber of people that have been voluntarily and involuntarily leaving over the past year or so. Look for any characteristics that such individuals might have in common. For example, do you find that most of the departing employees are positive, decisive, and productive, or do they tend to be employees whose attitudes and performance are below par? Companies can make all sorts of pronouncements about their values, but a look at the people who are leaving will give you a truly valuable piece of information about the company itself and your future in it. |
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