Let’s say you run a company. Sales are down and profits are going down with them. It’s come to the point where you have to let go of an employee. You’ve narrowed it down to two. The first has been with the company longer than anyone else and has a larger salary. The second has been with the company for only a year and has a smaller salary. Everything else is equal.
Who would you fire?
Categories
Fired
7 replies on “Fired”
Were you fired?
I need more information than this to base a decision on.
No. I still have the same dead-end, boring job.
What more information do you need, Hugh?
I’m in my fourth week of self employment and love it.
Since the first employee has been with the company longer is he more likely to stay or is their retention equal?
I have two schools of thought. First is keep the smaller salary employee to keep operating cost down. Second is to keep the larger salary employee because in my experience he is more likely to stay through rough times.
Dilema.
“Since the first employee has been with the company longer is he more likely to stay or is their retention equal?”
As I said: everything else is equal.
“Dilema.”
Wouldn’t have posted it if it wasn’t. 😉
“Since the first employee has been with the company longer is he more likely to stay or is their retention equal?”
As I said: everything else is equal.
“Dilema.”
Wouldn’t have posted it if it wasn’t. 😉
Well, if this question was easy, you wouldn’t have posted it. If revenues and sales are down, the higher salary is going to cost more to keep. On the otherhand, greater experience may produce a better solution to the failing revenues.
It is a great enticement to simply use numbers to validate your decision but when dealing with people and, in the case of firing, having a significant impact on their lives, the decision is harder to make. Therefore, I have been trying, as I write this, to think of a way for both of them to find some good in this situation and this is what I came up with.
Tell both of them that they must be laid off but they will be kept on until they find new employment (impose a time limit). When the first one goes, offer continued employment to the other or if the second one also goes, hire someone else at the lower rate. Don’t know if that is reasonable or not but it is an idea.
Well, if this question was easy, you wouldn’t have posted it. If revenues and sales are down, the higher salary is going to cost more to keep. On the otherhand, greater experience may produce a better solution to the failing revenues.
It is a great enticement to simply use numbers to validate your decision but when dealing with people and, in the case of firing, having a significant impact on their lives, the decision is harder to make. Therefore, I have been trying, as I write this, to think of a way for both of them to find some good in this situation and this is what I came up with.
Tell both of them that they must be laid off but they will be kept on until they find new employment (impose a time limit). When the first one goes, offer continued employment to the other or if the second one also goes, hire someone else at the lower rate. Don’t know if that is reasonable or not but it is an idea.