How would it affect you if you were dismissed?

Think about it!

Whilst some Enterprise Sales Employers have learned to deliver this news sensitively, many haven’t. In fact, sometimes the way that employers communicate to employees that they are no longer required is, quite frankly, brutal - I’ve seen it happen.

The favoured technique of one CEO was to take an employee (longstanding or otherwise), without warning, into a room and fire them. Naturally, playing on the element of surprise and the bully tactic - fear - he would offer a package to the employee to leave immediately. If they walked out of the room without signing away their employment rights the amount would be halved.

Why?

Because that is just business...isn’t it?!

We all know that the world is rapidly changing with increasing business pressures leading to inevitable reorganisation, but dismissal doesn’t have to go that way. A bit of human respect can go a long way.

Imagine the impact of dismissal happening to you…

I once took a call from a sales director who had overachieved on challenging sales figures for the year but was nevertheless let go - because the board had lost confidence in him.

I took his phone call the morning after he had found out he was fired. He was devastated. So upset he could not speak and had to end the call after 3 attempts. He thought he would never get another job in the enterprise sales industry and that he was worthless.

You can take control of your own exit pathway

I share these examples not to be alarmist but to suggest that there is an alternative route. It is possible to be in control of when you choose to leave an organisation and for you to decide the impact it will have on your life.

Recognising the warning signs of being managed out:

During a coaching session with a high performing individual alarm bells began to ring. As my client fedback I recognized a number of early warning signs of likely dismissal. He was completely unaware of them.

In particular, it was clear to me that his line manager had been putting him under unnecessary pressure. Why? Well, the unspoken truth was his line manager wanted the head count back and to allocate resource in a different direction.

I could see that within 6 weeks he would be fired – not a great situation when you are on a month’s notice.

So, I suggested to him that we craft an exit from his current employment on his terms.

I recommended:

1. We approach the organisation and request a 6 month settlement payment in exchange for leaving the company.

2. The value of this strategy was that his line manager would also benefit from not having to take up valuable time going through the anxious performance process.

We crafted a WIN/WIN exit for my client

• The company agreed to 4 months’ pay out and an effective handover was initiated.

• My client left the business on his terms with security,

• The employer got their head count back.

• Both parties avoided the dreaded performance improvement process and any unnecessary legal costs.

That’s great Adrian, but how does this apply to me?

In uncertain economic times, taking control of your Enterprise Sales Career puts you in the driving seat of your career destiny - no employer predicting crystal ball required. No sleepless nights worrying about where the axe of dismissal will fall next.

Try this short exercise for regaining control and establishing if it’s time to move on on your terms:

1. Identify what is most important to you in a role...

Ready to take the next step in fulfilling your potential, on your terms? Email me at [email protected] to discuss how I can help get you there.