Sklover Working Wisdom

Sklover’s Thought for the Week

Alan Sklover — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:00:50 +0000

“It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.”

- Howard Ruff

Look ahead, up the road, and around the bend. Life – and life at work, especially – is such that, if you wait until you must take important steps, once the going gets rough, you just may not have time to take them. Be ready for what may confront you, and you will be one to survive, succeed, and thrive.

“How much should my husband ask to be ‘retained’ by his company for six months longer than he would like to stay on?”

Alan Sklover — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:00:07 +0000

Questions: My husband’s employer is being bought by a larger company, and many employees will be losing their jobs. Because my husband is 62, eligible for Social Security, and receiving a substantial pension from another company, he volunteered to be downsized, hoping he would get the severance being offered. His employer said, “No.”

Soon afterward, my husband told his manager that he would then retire shortly before the merger of the two companies, as he had no interest in going through the process of learning all new procedures, policies and protocols. To our surprise, his manager was told by his own boss to ask my husband, “How much will it take to get you to remain in your job an extra six months?”

Are there guidelines for how much he should ask for to stay on the extra six months? Perhaps a percentage of his annual salary? Perhaps the severance amount he would have received if he had been downsized? Is there some accepted yardstick? He’s always been considered a very valuable employee.

Cathy
Cincinnati, Ohio

Answer: Like the value of anything else in life, the value of a thing depends entirely on the perspective of the purchaser. A thimbleful of water is not worth much, but it is worth the world to a thirsty person in a desert.

In my experience, the most common treatment given a person in your husband’s shoes is what your intuition already told you: the severance he would have received had he been downsized, to be paid to him at the end of the six-month retention period. That would probably be the easiest to negotiate, as well, as all it really means is that your husband is put into the category of those to be downsized, but simply delaying his downsizing for six months.

If you believe your husband is particularly valuable to his employer – perhaps we should use the word uniquely valuable due to some special skill, relation or knowledge – you might consider asking for more than the standard severance amount, perhaps three months of salary more than that. I say this because special value is worth a special premium.

Please note that asking for any additional “retention” should be introduced accompanied by a rationale. As I always say in my negotiation seminars, “Numbers are easy to argue with, but reasons require real thinking.” That’s a fundament lesson of workplace negotiating.

How about this, all of which is probably true: “I have always wanted to retire, spend precious time with my wife, and kids and grandkids. We have already started thinking of that wonderful chapter of life called retirement, and have even started making plans. That being said, I understand and respect that you may want me to put retirement off, and delay my dreams, and stay on for your own needs, plans and hopes. How about this “trade”: I stay on for six extra months, and at the end the company pays me (a) the amount I would have received for severance, and (b) a check for three months salary. Alternatively, just make it one check for six months. That would give me what I think I deserve for putting my hopes and plans on hold.” It may not exactly fit your own facts and circumstances, and may not be what you had hoped, but it is my best suggestion given the facts, events and circumstances you’ve presented.

In any event, I hope this is helpful. Best of luck in your negotiating, and you have my best wishes for the “sweet retirement” you’ve earned.

Best, Al Sklover

“How can you resign from a job in both silence and good conscience, if it means that people in need will only remain in greater need?”

Alan Sklover — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:00:07 +0000

Question: I am a Social Worker who took an oath to protect the people I serve. For years now I have been doing my best to do that, but for years I have also been constantly “beating my head against the bureaucracy.”

Sadly, I have reached the conclusion that, in order to preserve my health and sanity, I only have a choice of either (a) leaving, or (b) pretending I do not see the incompetence, the uncaring, and the absence of accountability of my colleagues that, together, prevent my clients from being helped as they should be. I just can’t stick my head in the sand; I really must leave.

However, every article I have read about resigning recommends “Don’t say anything negative.” When I do resign, should I be honest about why I am leaving? Should I say anything after I leave? If I do say something, should it be anonymously?

Name Withheld
Santa Rosa, California

Answer: Overall, the answer to your very difficult dilemma is quite simple: Sometimes you have to take care of yourself before you can take care of others. So, first, take care of you.

My suggestion is that, if possible, you stay on your job until you can find a new one. If that’s not possible, I suggest you resign, and then seek a new job. Your resignation need not include a reason for your leaving. You can always deal with that later. There is no law, rule or regulation that says you cannot say or write, “I am going to wait until I feel the time is right to advise you – the people who run this agency, and those who fund this agency – of my reasons for leaving. If you want to register your voice regarding the sorry state of affairs at your agency, it would be far better to do it when it is “safe” for you to do so.

If you do later share your thoughts, feelings and frustrations, do so in writing, with passion but without poison, with compassion but while maintaining your composure, with conviction but without contentiousness. Remember that no one can hear your voice through a closed door: the way you say things can stop, or stimulate, people hearing your message. You might want to do it anonymously, but your message will be that much more powerful if not anonymous.

Be careful, though, not to defame anyone (defined as a false statement of fact that harms reputation), or violate any rule about confidentiality, both of which could get you in legal “hot water.”

The world surely needs more people like you, who care, and who work each and every day helping those in our community who need help. But, first and foremost, you need to take care of yourself, to your best ability. I hope these thoughts help you do so.

Keep the faith, and don’t ever lose your courage to care.

Best,
Al Sklover

“My Performance Improvement Plan (‘PIP’) seems irrational. What should I do?”

Alan Sklover — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:00:52 +0000

Question: In evaluating my performance during my Performance Improvement Plan, management told me my production is not up to what it should be. However, my position is not under any production standards. Any recourse?

Martha
Weston, West Virginia

Answer: Your recourse lies in “Pushing back against your PIP.” Sadly, Performance Improvement Plans (or “PIP’s”) are so often used as a cynical ploy to remove employees, or to intimidate them into quitting. What is the first sign that a PIP is being misused? When it simply doesn’t make sense, as seems to be the case in your PIP. How can a person whose job has no standards for production not be meeting production standards?

You do have recourse, and it will take some effort on your part.

(1) First, view our Video Number 4, entitled, “Performance Improvement Plans – How to Respond,” on the Video Archive section of our blogsite. We offer a 10-minute, step-by-step approach to recourse.

(2) Second, we have several articles and Questions & Answers on the Newsletter / Q & A Library section of our blogsite. You can read others’ questions and our answers to help you in your “push back.”

(3) Finally, we offer for a nominal sum a Model Memo for Responding to a Performance Improvement Plan on the “Private Library” section of our blogsite. It’s a model of what you probably need to get you started in “pushing back” effectively.

Best,
Al Sklover

Sklover’s Thought for the Week

Alan Sklover — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:01 +0000

“Talk doesn’t cook rice.”

- Chinese Proverb

These four simple words say so very much about life at work. Intelligence is helpful, but grit makes the difference. Vision is important, but effort is essential. Planning is valuable, but execution is what counts. Lots of people “talk the talk,” but far fewer people “walk the walk.” Be the one who gets things done, and “the bowl of rice” will be yours.

“I was promised a promotion, and given the higher-level duties, but have been denied the better title and pay. What do I do?”

Alan Sklover — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:00:17 +0000

Question: I work for an insurance company. In the beginning of the year I was an Audit Assistant, one step below an Audit Analyst. In February, an Audit Analyst left, and my boss told me I would be promoted to the Audit Analyst job. I immediately received the Audit Analyst duties, but I was kept at the lower Audit Assistant title and compensation.

It has been eight months since then, and another Audit Assistant has been promoted to Audit Analyst, and she got the improved title and pay that goes along with the promotion. My boss told me he would speak with the Chief Operating Officer, but nothing happened. First, I thought that this might be a violation of the Equal Pay Act, but we’re both women. Then I thought it could be age discrimination, but she’s over 40 and I’m 25.

Is there something I can do?

Jada
Raleigh, North Carolina

Answer: From what you’ve written, your problem is pretty simple: you are doing the Audit Analyst duties, but are being denied the Audit Analyst pay. Legally speaking, this is a “breach of contract,” that is, an agreement was made, you performed your part of the agreement, and your employer has not performed its part. You are due both back pay for what you have been denied for the eight months, and you are due the higher pay going forward. You are due the higher title, as well.

I suggest you write a polite, respectful, yet firm email to the Chief Operating Officer and the Head of HR, and bring this to their attention. Be prepared to describe with specificity the duties of the Audit Analyst job, and show in the best way you can that you are performing those exact duties. Tell them you are confident this is a simple oversight, and not intentional in any way. Do not criticize your boss; that usually is not helpful. In fact, in your email you might even thank and praise your boss for giving you an opportunity, helping train you, and recognizing your hard work, dedication and value to the company.

Give this a try. I think it will work. Stay on the “positive side,” and please let me know how it goes. My best to you.

Best,
Al Sklover

“Is a change-in-control provision in an executive employment agreement the same as a separate change-in-control agreement?”

Alan Sklover — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:00:47 +0000

Question: Is the change-of-control provision in an executive employment agreement the same as a separate change-of-control agreement?

Bhanu
Hyderabad, India

Answer: Overall, the answer is “Yes,” the two are basically the same and serve the same purpose, but differ in what they usually provide and to whom they are provided. (Please note that “change of control” and “change in control” mean the same thing.)

A “change in control” at work means just what it says: an event by which new people have gained control of a company. It might be by purchase of a majority interest, by merger, by change in Board composition, by arrival of new CEO, or in several other ways. Whether a “change in control” has, in fact, taken place, may depend on how “change in control” is defined. For employees, and executive employees in particular, “changes of control” represent a significant risk, mostly because the new “controllers” often want new “controllees,” that is, they often bring in their own, trusted people to run the company. That can mean either dismissal or dismal treatment for existing executives and other employees.

There are two general approaches to protecting employees in “change of control” situations:

(a) Resignation by the Employee Permitted, with Payments: In this first approach, the employee is permitted to resign (if he or she wants to), but is given treatment not as one who has voluntarily resigned, but rather as if he or she was terminated by the company without “cause,” which often means payment of severance (or enhanced severance), acceleration of unvested equity, and other positive treatment. Such treatment may also bring about the voiding of a non-compete agreement.

This first approach to “Change in Control” treatment is primarily given to senior-most executives and the most highly-compensated employees. It represents to these people a limitation on potential risk of taking new employment. We seek to negotiate such treatment into their employment contracts. We see such “Change in Control” provisions in senior executive employment contracts.

(b) Payments to the Employee if Terminated (or demoted, etc.) within a Certain Period: By this second approach employees are given certain enhanced payments (or other positive treatment) if terminated, demoted, transferred, or receive other negative treatment within a certain period after the “change in control.”

This second approach to “Change in Control” treatment is seen much more commonly in “Change In Control” agreements given to employees who are not the senior-most executives or most highly-compensated employees. It serves the same function – limitation on risk during a risky period – and encourages employees to stay on board during transitions.

So, the answer is, “Yes,” change-in-control provisions in executive employment agreements are the “same” as change-in-control agreements, in that they address the risk employees face when control of a company changes hands. It’s just that they are generally provided to two different groups of employees, and generally take a slightly different approach.

Best,
Al Sklover

“I left my job due to a hostile workplace. Now, three weeks later, my boss wants to talk with me. What does he want?”

Alan Sklover — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:00:12 +0000

Question: I left my job three weeks ago due to a hostile workplace. I emailed HR and spoke to my boss about what happened. I was told he would call me back, and let me know something. I then waited two weeks and no word came from my employer, so I filed for unemployment.

Now my employer wants to speak to me. What do I do? Why is he trying to contact me three weeks later?

Jasmine
Lansing, Michigan

Answer: From my experience in these matters, I believe you now probably represent some sort of risk to your boss, or to your employer. Otherwise, they probably would not be calling you. I can think of three (3) reasons your boss may want to talk with you:

A. Possible Unemployment Hearing: If when you applied for unemployment insurance, you wrote that you left due to a hostile workplace, and possibly even mentioned your boss’s name, your employer is in a “pickle”: If they don’t contest your unemployment claim, it could be used as an “admission” of the hostile workplace, and you could use this if you later sue them. Alternatively, if they contest your unemployment application, and you win at an Unemployment Hearing, that is, if the Hearing Officer decides that there was, in fact, a hostile workplace, that “official decision” is highly favorable to you if you decide later to go to court. For this reason, your employer may be looking for a way out of the “pickle” they find themselves in.

B. A Different Kind of Risk has Arisen: If not an Unemployment Hearing, a different type of risk may have arisen. Perhaps another person has already sued them, and they are afraid you will be a good witness in that lawsuit. Perhaps your boss has been so hostile he has been told “One more time and you are out of here,” or some such thing. Perhaps they know that a large business deal could be jeopardized if a lawsuit arose. (These are nothing but speculation.)

C. They Want to Offer You Severance: If your employer finds itself in the “pickle” I described above, or facing a different kind of risk, they might want to “buy” themselves out of that “pickle,” new risk or lawsuit by offering you a severance package which is, as severance nearly always is, tied to a release of all claims and confidentiality agreement you have to sign to collect the severance.

I strongly suggest you let your former employer speak with you, to find out what it is they want, but that you take certain precautions to protect yourself in the process. Why don’t you send your boss and HR an email and write words such as “Hello. I understand you want to speak with me. So that I can be prepared, would you mind telling me what it is you want to speak about? Also, I would be much more comfortable to have my good friend, Mary, on the telephone with me, for support. Are these all right with you? Please let me know. If yes, I can speak with you on Monday, at 2:00 pm” or words to that effect.

In any telephone call you might have, there are four “rules” to follow: (1) do not allow anyone to be hostile to you; if so, excuse yourself, and end the call; (2) make no commitments to anything they say, ask or propose; (3) show no emotion of any kind; and (4) gather “data” by listening, taking notes, and asking questions.

Do not discuss your application for unemployment, as this could be a trap to gather information about it to use against you. Also do not discuss your job hunting, or your job prospects; that’s none of their business, and could result in their interfering with your job search. Just listen, ask questions, and gather data.

In this way, you can simultaneously (i) find out if there is something positive for you in what your former employer wants to talk about; (ii) protect yourself from being tricked into saying or doing anything against your interests; and (iii) have a witness regarding what happened, so there is no “she said/he said” after the conversation.

It’s my hunch that you may be offered a severance or settlement package that just might be a good thing for you. If so, why not take the call? If it turns out to be anything that seems negative in any way, just end it. The way I see it, as long as you are careful, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Hope this is helpful. Good luck to you.

Best, Al Sklover

Sklover’s Thought for the Week

Alan Sklover — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:00:58 +0000

“The time is always right to do right.”

- The Rev. Martin Luther King

Doing “right” at work is an investment that will yield great rewards your entire career. The “right time” to do “right” just never seems to come around. If you always try to do “right,” you will be known as someone who always does “right,” it will become a faithful, ingrained habit, and you will earn not only the respect of others, but deep, lifetime self-respect. No one will walk taller, stand straighter, or command more respect at work than you will if you do “right.”

“My boss told my colleagues I resigned, which is false. He then sent me home. What should I do?”

Alan Sklover — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:00:40 +0000

Question: I am the Director of Community Education for a non-profit organization. I love my work and am very dedicated to it.

Last week I left a meeting without telling anyone why I was leaving. The next day my boss sent an email to all staff, and even to program funders, stating that I resigned. That is 100% untrue. In fact, our meetings are always recorded, and the recording of that meeting can prove I did not resign.

When I saw the email, I went into my boss’s office, and sat down and discussed what happened. He asked me to go home for a few days while he thought about it. What are my rights? Should I ask for a severance package? Can I sue my boss? I don’t know what to do.

Carmen
Bronx, New York

Answer: It sure looks a lot like your boss is trying to get you to leave the agency, one way or the other, and has even resorted to dishonesty to do so. That’s a real problem, and a problem that requires you take certain steps to stop him, and take them as soon as possible. If you do not take action, you will probably be out of a job, probably denied unemployment insurance, and probably without any chance for severance, either. OUCH!!!

(1) First and foremost, you need to take a clear, firm stand – in writing – that “I did not resign.” Right now, your boss has told people you have resigned. I would strongly urge you to send an email to your boss in which you clearly and calmly write, in your own words, “I want to make it totally clear that I have never resigned, and any statement by anyone that I did so is either mistaken and/or false. I am still on the job, have no intention of resigning, and plan to remain on the job.” If I were you, I would send that email to everyone your boss sent his email, and perhaps others, too, such as the non-profit’s Board of Directors.

(2) Second, you need to get yourself back to the job, as soon as possible. By staying at home, you are allowing your boss to say to people either “You see, just like I said, she resigned,” or “She has abandoned her job, which is a kind of resigning.” Action speaks louder than words; make your actions say, “Here I am, and I’m doing my work.”

(3) Third, since your boss seems almost desperate to remove you from the agency, I suggest that you need to do your best to get him, and perhaps the Board of Directors, into an open and honest discussion of your status at the agency. If there is a personality clash, get it resolved as best as possible. If there is some thought that you are not doing a good job, get that resolved, as well. Find out what the apparent problem is, and try to resolve it, if you can. Otherwise, your boss is surely not your friend, and he will probably sooner or later get his way.

Just do yourself this one favor: don’t walk out of any more meetings. That will only give your boss another opportunity to hurt you.

Maybe a transfer to a different boss would be a good idea. Maybe an understanding that you will look for a new job elsewhere – and have a year to find one – would be a good idea. It may be that this is not the best place for you. If so, perhaps a severance package is the best course of action for everyone.

What the best result is for you, I’m not sure. But I am sure that the current situation is not good for you AT ALL. You need to get back to work, dispel the false notion that you resigned, and start a productive conversation on alternative courses of action that are better for you.

Get going, as there is little time to waste. My very best to you.

Best, Al Sklover