Company Protection From Disgruntled Former Employees
Inquiring minds want to know: “How can companies protect themselves from potential harm caused by disgruntled former employees?”
Someone recently asked that responsible, important question of fellow readers on a popular message board.
It’s a curiosity that leaders either have given serious thought to or should start talking about and planning for because of the very real, significant and dangerous associated risks that can evolve or already be present.
Could communication and how it is presented play a vital role in risk prevention and risk management? This Communication Intelligence special report examines this evergreen societal concern.
Elisa Bender, co-founder at RevenueGeeks
“The best way to protect your company from disgruntled employees is through a great exit interview,” says Elisa Bender, co-founder at RevenueGeeks, a resource for individuals navigating the Amazon and e-commerce landscape. “This interview lets you get into the feelings of the particular employee. If an employee feels disgruntled, it’s vital to let them vent their feelings.”
If organizational leaders dislike that type of interaction to the point of wanting to avoid it, rush through it or dominate the conversation to the point where people cannot express their displeasure, maybe they should stop and consider what could happen soon afterward.
“It’s better to let them do so in front of you than in front of the public,” Bender advises, explaining that “Exiting employees that get a chance to vent to HR or the executives have a lower chance of causing subsequent harm to the company.”
These types of discussions come with uncertainty and unnerving emotional reactivity. That discomfort can be balanced cognitively with the benefits due to the respect perceived by an employee or a soon-to-be departed one.
“You can't please everyone every time,” Bender says. “If a leader feels that they weren’t able to diffuse the situation and that more is to come, they’re not touching the real problem. It's likely that they haven’t understood the cause of all this. Give the employee the impression that you’re willing to listen and resolve the conflict.”
She explains one step that some companies may take if a dispute escalates, yet not one she necessarily recommends.
“If nothing else works and you’re pushed to the extreme, a generous severance package and an NDA will always get the job done,” Bender says. “But know that you risk putting yourself and the company in a bad light if you do this.”
Working through the stress and anxiety of such exit interviews, whether because of the unknown or predictable behavior is not easy yet it is a leadership responsibility.
“It’s important to establish that a good leader wouldn't be afraid to face conflict or criticism,” Bender contends. “But if that is the case, it might be better to go in with a panel,” she suggests, adding, “There's strength in numbers, as they say. A panel of your executives or HR will help fill in where you lack.”
This approach can be interpreted poorly though, coming across as ganging up on and attempting to silence the departing employee.
“Understand that you might scare the exiting employee this way,” Bender points out. “Discuss with your panel how you want the interview to go. Keep a gentle tone and avoid being accusatory at all costs.”
Diane Rosen, an attorney and counsel to Herrick Feinstein LLP
and a principal at Compass Consultants
“Organizations should always strive to communicate with employees throughout their tenure and create a workplace environment where employees feel seen, heard, acknowledged and appreciated,” Diane Rosen, attorney and counsel at Herrick Feinstein, and a mediator and a principal and executive coach at Compass Consultants, says.
“Performance feedback should be delivered in real time whenever possible rather than waiting for a year-end review,” she recommends, because, she says, “Timely feedback captures both positive and negative information and gives the person a chance to course adjust before poor performance gets baked in.”
The norm for organizations, she has learned, is a leadership decision error.
“A feedback dump once a year is counterproductive,” Rosen says, because, “Most reviewers remember the negative and forget what went well.”
That means that, “Employees are left with information that may be outdated and, in any event, will focus on whether they got a raise or promotion,” she points out.
There offers more counsel on the matter, including something likely very new to many leadership ears and minds.
“Organizations should also focus on training managers, and perhaps everyone, in conflict resolution techniques,” Rosen says.
The why is clear, she has learned.
“Employees who have some tools for de-escalating conflicts, mediating conflicts among employees, can surface underlying issues, personality conflicts, misinformation and move toward resolution.”
When that is not happening throughout the organization, it’s no surprise what is likely occurring.
“When conflicts fester, employees will act out, badmouth coworkers or the organization and even sow more general discontent,” Rosen states. “Catching conflicts early will prevent them from growing.”
Becoming more keen observers, regardless of the burden of one’s job, is an invaluable and necessary skill.
“Managers should be on the lookout for outlier behaviors that may be indicative of deeper problems such as burnout or mental health issues,” she stresses. “And if such behaviors are seen, interventions should be undertaken as appropriate per company policy and employment law.”
When employees are departing the company, Rosen is like-minded with Bender (earlier in this report) about the help that an exit interview can be, as she calls that communication an important tool, saying it can assist in “smoothing over bad feelings and learning about situations that may still be in play.”
Rosen provides an example: “The manager can learn about who is doing or not doing their work, who is gossiping, who sabotages the team, etc.,” and “If a manager learns something in that conversation that is truly an issue in the organization, the manager should take immediate action and if appropriate, assure the departing individual that their feedback will be taken seriously, and the organization will endeavor to address it.”
Even with best intentions and efforts, sometimes organizations will come up short in preventing an employee leaving with resentment.
“It may not be possible to prevent a truly disgruntled person who, rightly or wrongly, believes they were not treated well, from looking for ways to hurt the organization or even specific individuals,” Rosen says.
She explains that “It is hard to control a resentful or malevolent person who is on a mission to do harm, particularly since there are multiple outlets for people to lash out, both through direct communication or anonymous posting on social media.”
If concerning or extreme behavior has been witnessed or communicated, it’s vital to not explain it away or excuse it.
“If the disgruntled person is truly scary, making threats, intimidating others, etc., organizations should take immediate action and contact relevant authorities,” Rosen recommends.
Janine Yancey, founder and CEO of the edtech company, Emtrain
Janine Yancey is a former labor and employment lawyer who is now the founder and CEO of the edtech company, Emtrain, which provides analytics, via very large scale employee surveys and training tools to organizations seeking a healthier, more productive workforce.
She uses an analogy to make begin making her point about the evergreen risk of deeply upset employees or former ones.
“It’s safe to say that one of the best ways to avoid having teeth pulled is through regular dental check-ups, which speaks to the importance of getting in front of potential issues,” Yancey says. “It’s very similar to the workplace where a positive culture will greatly reduce the chance for disgruntled former employees.”
Even if a company is near perfect in building healthy relationships with its people, strong leadership might not be good enough to prevent serious negative reactions, danger and damages to the company.
“Organizations know that if they have 100 employees, and 99 of them love their jobs, it just takes one to create a host of issues, from legal battles to online attacks,” Yancey says.
The truth, she contends, is that more can always be done and should be conducted for risk mitigation.
“So while doing everything possible to create the kind of culture that allows leadership to address potential issues before they turn in to something bigger, the reality is that additional steps need to be taken in preparation of an employee acting out against the organization,” Yancey says.
A look in the figurative rearview window is one lesson and reminder.
“This became very clear during the pandemic, where Reductions in Force became necessary, as well as more disgruntled employees sharing their grievances online,” Yancey says. “Mere accusations can set off a firestorm where a company’s reputation, and bottom line, may be at stake.”
She details what she professionally recommends:
“The most important thing an organization can do is to have a specific and practiced plan for termination,” Yancey says.
“The goal is to make the transition as easy as possible for the employee and comes through honesty and compassion. Helping an employee bridge, either through severance or outplacement, will not only ease their transition and potential future actions, but speak to the company values that have hopefully been established.”
David Lewis, CEO at OperationsInc, a human resources consulting firm
“Thinking ahead, being strategic about potential or present risks is vital,” says David Lewis, CEO at OperationsInc, a human resources consulting firm. “Employers seeking to manage issues that could arise from former, disgruntled employees need to be good chess players.
“By that I mean that they need to explore all possible moves made by said ex-employee and plan appropriate defenses and countermoves before taking any steps.”
He points out that communication plays a major role in a prevention and response strategy, saying, “How you exit that individual, focusing on dignity, brevity in message, professionalism and with little fanfare is key.
“Same for how you handle telling others about the exit. Things like cutting off network access at the right time prior to communicating the decision to terminate — if this is a termination — is also key, as is the flagging of their personal emails to your system.”
Yet he also talks to today’s business reality.
“With many (professionals) communicating via text and personal email and social media, cutting off communications is not a realistic expectation,” Lewis says.
So instead, he offers the recommendation of using available legal means and remembering to avoid what is unethical.
“Leverage can include separation agreements,” Lewis says, adding that, “Leverage is not withholding pay or (anything) similar, which is illegal.”
Rahul Mahna, partner at EisnerAmpner
Responsible employees can be set up to hurt the company after being lured in by an impulsive, raging employee or ex-employee, warns Rahul Mahna, partner at EisnerAmpner, an audit, accounting and tax services firm.
“Let’s put aside for the moment the scenario of a disgruntled employee determined to wreak havoc over a grudge or acting maliciously at the behest of a rival,” he says. “Team members with the best of intentions are increasingly likely to click on a phishing email, act upon a fraudulent text or log-in to the company server from an unsecured computer, pushing the doors wide open for the inhabitants of that shady war room who are searching for the weakest link.”
Bridget Reed, co-founder at The Word Counter, an online tool used for counting words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and pages in real-time.
Bridget Reed, co-founder at The Word Counter, an online tool used for counting words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and pages in real-time, believes prevention is the smartest approach for the myriad of problems that come with employees or ex-employees who are vindictive.
“Fostering a positive work environment,” she says, “that promotes open communication — and resolving conflicts promptly — can help address any potential issues before they escalate. Therefore, your employees may not feel disgruntled in the first place.”
And in the fewer instances where there are still upset people in your organization or leaving it and “you must cut ties,” Reed says, “try to do so in a manner that won’t instigate negative reactions.”
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