A few years ago, I was faced with an odd situation. Lisa, from our loss-prevention team, called me and informed me that they had noticed a difference between the amounts recorded by the till system and money credited on the bank account for one store. The investigation was already pointing at internal staff, most probably the Store Manager (that I will callĀ Mark, fictitious name).Ā
As I took care of the HR side of the investigation, I started to notice a few things. Mark had had a pattern of frequent one-day health-related absences for some time. He had enquired about the possibility to obtain a cash advance from payroll. Still, he had not answered when asked for the reason. One day a member of the store team had called into the office because Mark was late for the store opening.
In previous years Mark had always had excellent performance reviews, and the store itself had been performing well. The last quarter they had missed the targets due to roadworks directly in front of the store that affected traffic.
A few days after Lisa called again. They had evidence that Mark had not deposited one of the cash envelopes at the bank. It was time to act.
The day after I travelled with Lucy, the District Manager, to the store for a surprise visit.
The store had just opened, Mark was behind the till, together with Demir, one of the sales associate. He was evidently not at ease when he saw us. We moved to the office in the back, and showed him the pieces of evidence that we had collected. The immediate reaction is often of denial.
Mark instead erupted into tears. He immediately admitted the wrongdoing and pulled a small post-it note from his pocket, where he had neatly noted down the amounts he had taken. He apologised, mumbling that he hoped he would be able to give the money back.Ā
Deeply shaken, he explained he had been the victim ofĀ gambling addictionĀ and had started a recovery program with a local counselling organisation (which excused the absences). He still owed money to several people, something that in the past, he had been able to manage with his wage and bonus, but this had been an issue lately. He wanted to get out from this vicious circle.
I took Lucy to one side and asked her impression. She agreed he seemed to be genuinely in pain. They had been working together for more than 6 years, and she always trusted him. I told her that I had sensed something already during the investigation, and had prepared for different options.
We went back in, and I started talking to Mark. I explained to him that stealing at work is an act that forever damages the trust relationship that underpins employment. We would not have any other option than a termination. He looked at us and said that he understood this fully and was prepared for all the consequences.
However, I continued, we were also prepared to accept the very peculiar situation, and acknowledge the lasting relationship he had built.Ā
I pulled a document from my bag. It was not the standard termination letter for theft that I had also prepared. Rather a termination agreement whereby we would cease the collaboration immediately, but pay him the legal notice period and residual holidays. We deducted the amounts he owed, but this would give still him a few months of financial security, where to concentrate on his rehabilitation. No police involved and no legal consequences, plus the possibility of a reference letterāa critical element to restart his working life when ready.
For the first time in my life, somebody thanked me for being terminated.
In the afternoon, Lucy told me she had never seen so muchĀ compassionĀ in action. I was surprised by the remark: we always mention thatĀ people come first, having an understanding of the circumstances of a situation is vital to put this principle in practice.
This case came back to mind today whenĀ
Antoinette WeibelĀ shared the following post onĀ
LinkedIn:
Dutton et al., find thatĀ compassionĀ is linked to āhigher levels of shared positive emotion (e.g., pride and gratefulness)ā (Dutton et al. 2006) as well asĀ greater collective commitment and lower turnover ratesĀ (Grant et al. 2008, Lilius et al. 2008). Plus a recent article shows its links toĀ organisational learningĀ (Guinot et al 2020).
I find all these elements to be truly relevant. Still, my take is that expressing compassion is not akin to a business task. It is the way to express our humanity. In business, we need to rootĀ compassionĀ on strong principles, avoid overdoing it. I find that it is often a sign ofĀ tough loveĀ as it usually involves taking hard decisions, that need to be read in context. And itās about expressing ourĀ duty of care towards other human beings.Ā
CompassionĀ is not keeping people in the organisation indefinitely, or not recognising where there are performance issues. Itās about helping the individual in developing personal resilience and having meaningful systems to set targets and assess results.Ā
Ray DalioĀ wrote that you have toĀ
evaluate accurately, not kindly.Ā To which I would add that you need to be fair. I had to terminate Mark in that situation, there were no alternatives. But by evaluating the condition accurately, I took the options that I had in my power to use.Ā
As I think of how often some managers behave, I see that this is, however, not a consistent practice. Endless managers are not able to be candid about their teamās underperformance. They are not at ease in undertaking difficult conversations. When things go wrong, they express a lot ofĀ kindness, trying to justify misbehaviours with the circumstances. That is not, however, how I see compassion work in an organisational setting.
We need to build this as a critical capability for a genuinely positive Leadership.Ā
I truly think this is a key building block ofĀ
bringing back Human into HR.Ā
But how do we train our managers and teams to express more of this?
Sergio
Tweet
Share