How to Not Layoff a Worker

Last week, my mother was laid off from her “very” part time job at a non-profit organization. Mom had started working there 25 years ago after the kids were nearly grown, working part-time to full-time as needed. Mom built her life around her job and made many close friends among her coworkers with whom she spent a lot of time off the job.

After many years and many budget cuts, Mom was now the only remaining person working in her department who performed her specific duties. Although she was paid to work only 12 hours a week, Mom put in an extra 12 to 20 hours per week in volunteer time doing what she truly loved. She liked to joke that she was “cheap” labor.

On top of Mom’s volunteer contributions, she also supported the non-profit financially, buying gifts for all of us at Christmas from the non-profit run shop and donating money to special programs.

Mom assumed her job would always be safe. She was sadly mistaken.

Her employer, the non-profit, held a meeting one day where they told their shocked and dismayed staff that all part-time help and some full-time help would be “separated.” Mom tried to negotiate even fewer paid hours via her supervisor, who told her that the “powers that be” were not interested. She was told to pack up her personal things and collect her last pay check.

“But, you’re welcome to continue volunteering,” said the receptionist who handed her the check. “That’s the plan – to shift most of the work to volunteers to save money,” she said.

“Humph!” said Mom as she boxed up all the materials she had purchased with her own money and not sought for reimbursement.

Mom wasn’t upset that there was no warning. She was upset that the decision to lay her off was all done out of her control; that the method seemed cold and inhuman; and more importantly, that it seemed unnecessary. She loved her company, loved her job, and would have gone right on putting in tons of hours for free if she’d felt respected. However, she felt she was being treated as a Social Security number, just another “part time” status employee sent to the slaughter house – and not treated the way she saw herself – as an intelligent and important, incremental part of the non-profit’s operation.

Mom decided she would eventually go back to volunteering, but at the competing non-profit instead.

I told my mother that her old employers are idiots.

On March 20, 2003, after several months of threats to invade Iraq and take down Saddam Hussein, President G.W. Bush ordered the “shock and awe” bombing of Iraq.  We were now going to war.

Just like so many Seattle-based businesses around me, my own business came to a screeching halt. Since I extended credit and billed my clients after the work was done, I relied on them to pay me in a reasonably timely manner so that I could pay my own businesses’ bills. Usually, there were a few stragglers: about 10% of customers on average paid late and some never paid at all and had to be sent to collections. However, in April of 2003, only 25% of my clients had paid for services provided for them from January through March. In other words, 75% were late with their payments. I began to panic.

I had always paid myself last out of whatever was left after paying my staff and the bills – it seemed the fairest way to operate. It also helped me gain the respect of my employees and those in the business world. If there was more money leftover, I stashed it away for a rainy day. When revenue fell short, I made up the difference with savings and never took out business loans, so that I had no business debt.

Despite having done everything correctly, I was now faced with a serious cash flow deficit. I sat down my employees to tell them the bad news. “We’re running out of savings. Old customers aren’t paying their bills. New customers aren’t placing orders. Due to the lack of demand for work, we’re going to have to lay off production workers if money doesn’t start rolling in very soon.”

I did not expect the amazing transformation that occurred within my own staff. Sabrina, the office assistant who was usually quite obstinate, suddenly became quite helpful and got on the phone calling customers to remind them to pay their bills. The sales staff who had whined about the bad economy suddenly began to make sales again, and also were able to personally collect many of the unpaid bills. I had tears in my eyes – I was so impressed with all of their contributions to save the business.

Sabrina later came to me. “I took another job at night so you can cut my hours if you want,” she said.

“Why would you do that? You know your job is safe,” I asked.

“Because,” she said, “I don’t want to see Mitch get laid off.” Mitch was her friend and unfortunately, the first on the chopping block due to his low seniority.

In the end, the business was saved. Everyone got to keep their job. However, Mitch and Sabrina, young and inexperienced in the work world, both left soon after since they were concerned about their job stability. The business began to do well again and flourished and prospered better than ever before as new staff members, some who were seasoned experts laid off by my competitors, filled Mitch’s and Sabrina’s former positions.

Looking back on the experience, I realize that the reason my staff rallied together to save the company was because they viewed it as their own company, not a business which I technically owned. Their pride in their jobs, their sense of ownership, their camaraderie and friendship among each other was their motivation for keeping the company intact. The long hours and hard work I invested was an example to them. My openness showed my sincerity.

I gave them the power to save their own jobs and they came through.

Obama right to change his mind

Within any organization, including the government, there are secrets kept hidden which are not revealed to anyone except to those who need to know them. 

Original diagram ©2008 Smart Spark – free to use with written permission only.

Pull out troops from Iraq within 16 months as promised on the campaign trail? Hopefully, but maybe not. The answer will be determined by what on-the-ground military commanders recommend.

Increase taxes in 2009 for individuals earning more than $250,000 per year as promised on the campaign trail? Perhaps that wouldn’t be prudent. Let’s just let them expire in 2010.

Private or public campaign financing? Daughters allowed to be interviewed by the media or kept out of the spotlight? Public schools or private? Tapping the national oil reserve to lower gas prices? News reports and internet blogs are filled with criticisms of Obama for changing his mind.

Why shouldn’t he change his mind?

Within any government, organization, company, and family there are secrets kept hidden which are not revealed to anyone except to those who need to know them. Although we the general public can guess what these secrets might be; and we the media can dig for facts via the freedom of information act; together, we can only come up with bits and pieces of truths at best. The burden of making the big decisions must lie with those who are most informed.

After being elected President of the United States, Obama became a member of an exclusive club, the club of the “need to know’s.” Beginning on November 6, 2008, two days after the national election, President Elect Obama began to receive official national daily security briefings from a CIA briefing team and from Mike McConnell, the Director of National Intelligence. This was more information than Obama had received as a candidate.

In electing a president or other official, we are putting our trust in an individual to take this very detailed information and make informed decisions about how to best run our country. We must allow our elected officials to do their job.

Haven’t you ever changed your mind?

Perhaps you promised your 16-year old daughter she could go to the movies on Friday, then found out the boy who was taking her was over 21, so you changed your mind, retracting your promise. Perhaps you agreed to go on vacation with another couple to the Grand Canyon, but then found that they were taking their 85-pound German Shepherd with them in the car, so you decided not to go. Maybe you took a job and found out that it didn’t pay as much as you thought, so you quit. Promises only count when facts are presented truthfully and in full.

I recently agreed to purchase a house in Central Florida. I signed a contract, essentially promising to buy the house and paid a good faith deposit. The house was old, but had been renovated, and looked lovely. However, before sealing the deal, I hired an inspector to find out what condition the house was in. The inspector brought out a few gadgets: a moisture detector, which found rot hidden in the walls and an infrared camera which allowed him to see extensive termite infestation. The owner had assured me that the roof was brand new, but the inspector found that only one third was new, the rest was original to the house, and the new shingles were laid on rotten boards. The “new” appliances turned out to have been salvaged. The termite bond turned out to not be a bond at all, when you read the fine print. The property taxes had not been paid and over $9000 was due which would have fallen on the shoulders of the buyer.

I backed out of the deal quickly, running, not walking away. Legally, I was allowed to do this because the condition of the house was not presented truthfully. I lost my $400 inspection fee plus several weeks of time that I could have used to look at other houses. However, I was glad I changed my mind.

There is no sin in changing your mind, especially for the big stuff. I would rather have a leader who changes their mind after learning new facts, than have a leader who stubbornly plows forward just to keep a promise.

Republicans the Party of the Wealthy

A week ago, I took my friends Alfred and Lorie out for lunch at William's Landing restaurant in Astor, Florida. Alfred and Lorie are moving to Pennsylvania and it was a sad farewell. Alfred has already voted by absentee balot, which he applied for long ago since he's frequently away from home on business. Lorie took advantage of "early voting" this past week in order to cast her vote before moving.

As the owner of his own small business, Alfred works his fingers to the bone, sacrificing personal wants and needs over paying the business's bills, and burning the midnight oil to get work done while he envies those who get to punch a time clock and put their work behind them as they go home to their families each night.

Both Lorie and Alfred are voting for Obama this election. Alfred is a registered Republican.

Alfred explained to me that he is no longer happy with his party. The very reasons why he became a Republican, the core principals of fiscal responsibility and small government, seem to have vanished. The Democrats have adopted many of his values embracing charter schools, healthcare and gun rights. The Republicans have lost their way and lost touch with the average American.

I understand what he is talking about. I too, was a Republican, having joined the party in 1978 after listening to a talk at my school by a North Carolina Democrat running for office about the virtues of government handouts for the poor and destitute. I'll never forget his closing question to the audience, "Do you think we should make sure everyone has a home, food on their table, and the comforts of life regardless of whether or not they have a job, or do you think they should have to work for it?" It seemed a simple question to me. Of course, they should have to work for it. I mean, I did. Why not make them work, too?

At that time, in 1978, the difference between the haves and the have nots was not nearly as disproportionate as what it has become today and the Federally mandated minimum wage paid a living wage. Driving through the "poor" neighborhoods in my hometown in North Carolina, you could not find the poetic ramshackle hovels from the Grapes of Wrath where the poor were living in filth and despair. No, this was tobacco and textile production country and "poor" meant that you drove a used Cadillac instead of a new one, or maybe just a good old rusty Ford truck handed down from your grandfather.

I was born into the middle class, but my parents felt that earning your own way builds character, so I had to make it on my own. My first job as a cashier, paying minimum wage of $3.35 per hour or $6,700 per year, barely paid my meager bills of rent, utilities, food and toiletries. At that time, about $6,000 per year marked the official poverty level. I could not afford a car and walked to work, a mile away. I also could not afford health insurance, even then, but did not care, since I was young and healthy. I hated paying taxes, especially since I personally knew people who sat at home watching TV all day and didn't work, but got welfare checks, food stamps, and free housing for doing absolutely nothing.

Despite my own meager existence, I had no problem proudly announcing to the world that I was a Republican. I campaigned for Jesse Helms for Senate and Beverly Lake for governor, and a few other candidates who I've forgotten since then. I campaigned for the working American. I wanted us to keep what we earned and for the government to tighten their belts and stop giving out free handouts. Instead, I wanted the Federal government to concentrate on the big jobs -- fixing highways, making and enforcing laws to protect us, and training the military to keep us safe. I wanted the local State government to build schools; maintain libraries, museums, and parks; police the streets; and keep my house from burning down.

Wow! Things have changed dramatically, haven't they? The government has fallen down on the job. Like a prima donna employee, our typical Republican governing official has let the primary task of serving the general public fall to the wayside, instead choosing to take care of personal wants and needs. Most Republican spending, whether it has been to fight a war in Iraq or build a "bridge to nowhere," has not served the general public. Instead, it has been directed at helping big corporations, such as oil companies, who have earned record profits due to wars in Middle Eastern oil producing countries, or Haliburton, who has been awarded no bid contracts for the military. Big insurance companies and big banks get bigger, all with the help of the government. Many Republicans, including our own President Bush and Vice President Cheney, have stock in these companies or receive pensions from previous high level positions, and have personally profited from the legislation.

Only two years ago, my husband and I considered ourselves to be fairly comfortable. After paying the mortgage, utilities, food, gas, healthcare, and paying off the credit card each month, we were still able to keep 25% of our pay for frivolous expenses, such as travel, eating out at restaurants, going to shows, buying electronic gizmos, giving spending money to our young relatives in college, and other splurges. Now, only one year later, we are lucky if we have anything left after paying our bills. For this reason, we have had to dip into savings intended for emergencies and retirement.

So, the farewell dinner we treated our friends to could not be at the pricey, but special, Blackwater Inn in Astor, FL. No, it had to be upstairs in the more affordable, William's Landing which serves some of the best fried fish sandwiches you'll find in central Florida.

My friend, Alfred says, "The Republicans have become split in two. On one side, they are the party of the haves. On the other, they are the party of the far Christian rights, the extreme social conservatives. I don't fit into either category."