The current economic situation with the resulting corporate downsizings has unfortunately given engineering leaders and people at all levels of engineering management increased experience preparing for and implementing layoffs. It’s not enjoyable, for anyone involved…
I’ve recently had informal discussion on this topic with various engineering management colleagues as we caught up over coffee (well, chai tea latte for me – NF, XH, no H20) or a meal. One person lamented the fact that in his company several of the engineers who were laid off were definitely not top performers and some should actually have been previously fired. Another person felt very sad that everyone laid off in her engineering organization were definitely contributing and that there was no “dead wood” so to speak; the loss of talent was severe.
The current times are definitely painful and the layoffs unfortunate both for solid performers and for the weak links. For the former, it is distressing that their life is suddenly more stressful and not due to their own performance as an individual contributor, whether in a hands-on or management role. For the weak links it is problematic because being part of a layoff does not necessarily provide the wake-up call that a firing for bad performance should have/ would have/ might have inspired.
Years ago I took the time and energy to go through the steps required to fire an engineer and he subsequently thanked me (not immediately but later.) It is a hassle and awkward to put a professional employee on a performance plan with weekly monitoring; sometimes it’s easier to just put up with the less than stellar performance. In the case of this person he was a smart, talented software engineer who had gotten in a rut and he’d started (prematurely) resting on his laurels. Subtle hints, followed by frank discussions didn’t result in change so after a while I took more drastic steps. Not enjoyable, for anyone involved…
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Jane Divinski has enjoyed the challenges of engineering management consulting since 1994. Most of her gigs are as interim VPE but Jane's also tackled other interim roles including CTO or program manager. Her background is at www.jadski.com
I’ve recently had informal discussion on this topic with various engineering management colleagues as we caught up over coffee (well, chai tea latte for me – NF, XH, no H20) or a meal. One person lamented the fact that in his company several of the engineers who were laid off were definitely not top performers and some should actually have been previously fired. Another person felt very sad that everyone laid off in her engineering organization were definitely contributing and that there was no “dead wood” so to speak; the loss of talent was severe.
The current times are definitely painful and the layoffs unfortunate both for solid performers and for the weak links. For the former, it is distressing that their life is suddenly more stressful and not due to their own performance as an individual contributor, whether in a hands-on or management role. For the weak links it is problematic because being part of a layoff does not necessarily provide the wake-up call that a firing for bad performance should have/ would have/ might have inspired.
Years ago I took the time and energy to go through the steps required to fire an engineer and he subsequently thanked me (not immediately but later.) It is a hassle and awkward to put a professional employee on a performance plan with weekly monitoring; sometimes it’s easier to just put up with the less than stellar performance. In the case of this person he was a smart, talented software engineer who had gotten in a rut and he’d started (prematurely) resting on his laurels. Subtle hints, followed by frank discussions didn’t result in change so after a while I took more drastic steps. Not enjoyable, for anyone involved…
__________________________________________
Jane Divinski has enjoyed the challenges of engineering management consulting since 1994. Most of her gigs are as interim VPE but Jane's also tackled other interim roles including CTO or program manager. Her background is at www.jadski.com
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