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What would you do if you had a 69 year-old employee whose production suddenly plummeted?
From a bird's eye view this is unacceptable. Doesn't matter how good he's been in the past.
Is he suddenly too old? Has he lost interest? Does he wish he was somewhere else? Does he not care anymore? Is he working because he has to not because he wants to? Is the job simply too much for him now?
All legitimate questions I suppose.
Based on his productivity level he's no longer carrying his weight. It's natural to wonder how long the company is expected to carry him.
And then maybe he gets disciplined. Or fired. Or shown the door in a more...ahem...respectful way by being ushered into "retirement."
Could even have a party for him and thank him for all of his many contributions over many years. Bring in a meal, hugs and tears all around. But the end result is he's out the door. Unproductivity replaced by productivity.
Or maybe not.
This was the case at a company I visited recently.
A 69 year-old man, whose productivity was solid for many years suddenly became unproductive.
Fortunately, the supervisor and the HR manager handled it well. By that I mean they asked questions instead of making assumptions.
The supervisor inquired. She asked the employee what was up. Asked him why he was moving slower. Was he ok?
He insisted he was fine.
A bit later his work declined further and he was caught taking a nap during his shift. Fireable offense if I ever heard one.
She asked again.
He admitted he wasn't feeling well, but joked that his wife hadn't cooked the chicken right the night before, that's all.
But the supervisor was alarmed at this point and brought in HR. They pressed the employee to go to a doctor. They insisted to the point of just about driving him there themselves.
He finally went.
Turns out he had testicular cancer. That's awful enough. It was advanced to the point he didn't have long to live.
That's sad, but it gets worse. The year before his wife had been diagnosed with lung cancer.
Can you imagine that conversation? When the man went home to tell his cancer stricken wife that he also had cancer?
Two months later the man died. The wife's husband, provider and caregiver was gone.
My point?
You never really know what's going on. Respect means we inquire first before we assume. The numbers said he had become an awful employee, but good leadership sniffed out the reason.
Gloria Steinem tells a story in her book, My Life on the Road.
In college she took a geology course in which her professor took the class out to the Connecticut River Valley.
He was telling them all about the "meander curves" in the river bed, but she was paying no attention.
"I had walked up a dirt path and found a big turtle," she writes, "a giant mud turtle about two feet across, on the muddy embankment of an asphalt road. I was sure it was going to crawl onto the road and be crushed by a car.
"So with a lot of difficulty, I picked up this huge snapping turtle and slowly carried it down the road to the river.
"Just as I slipped him into the water and was watching him swim away, my geology professor came up behind me.
"'You know, ' he said quietly, 'that turtle has probably spent a month crawling up the dirt path to lay its eggs in the mud on the side of the road-you have just put it back in the river.'
"I felt terrible. I couldn't believe what I had done, but it was too late.
"It took me many more years to realize this parable had taught me the first lesson of organizing.
"Always ask the turtle."
Because of the holiday I will not be writing a newsletter for next week. Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone and I'll see you in two weeks!
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