Last week I spoke to two different business owners struggling with the same problem, both were unhappy with an employee they considered fiercely loyal. One of the owners shared a story that occurred years ago of how her employee had stents inserted in his artery and on the same day, made phone calls from the hospital bed to make sure the payroll was processed. Then the employee went back to work the following week. The owner followed that story by explaining how that same employee is currently flat out refusing to go to the mandatory classes to learn the new business management software system and fails to follow many the rules and processes set by the company. This is a problem many business owners face. I call a person like this a fiercely loyal but isn’t producing or FLIP employee.
Uncertain what to do with this employee, the owner said, “He’s been with me since the beginning, almost 21 years, I’ve watched his kids grow up and he has been fiercely loyal” and then she asked me, “Can I really fire a person like that?”
The correct answer is simply, “Yes” because every employee, regardless of their loyalty, is paid to perform their job and if they have been given ample opportunity to change and are not performing, they need to be fired. However, because of the strong relationship that has been built between the owner and the loyal employee (and probably the employee’s family as well), the owner typically wants to give the employee far more chances than that person deserves.
An employee who has been defined as FLIP, tends to be one who was hired during a stage of the business when rules were lax, there was less accountability and everyone’s role in the company was less defined. Usually a fiercely loyal employee was a rockstar when first hired and was exactly what the company needed during that stage of the business cycle. As the company continued to mature, additional employees were hired to fill new roles, more processes and rules were created to help the company scale efficiently and there was greater accountability for everyone.
All of these changes cause problems for a FLIP employee because he used to be the center of attention and enjoyed “having a seat at the table” making high level decisions by playing the role of trusted advisor to the owner. As the company matures and more employees fill higher level roles, FLIP employees feel less appreciated, jealous and at times disrespected because there are more employees sharing time with the owner and acting as trusted advisors.
On top of that, many of the tasks the FLIP employee was once responsible for were transferred to the new hires leaving the FLIP employee to focus primarily on their job, but because of all the changes, the FLIP employee doesn’t necessarily know what exactly that is anymore.
Instead of accepting and embracing the change, FLIP employees create a sense of entitlement, express their dissatisfaction by ignoring rules and act out by making disrespectful, and unprofessional statements to the owner and other employees (usually in situations where it’s most inappropriate like in executive meetings or in front of customers).
The reality of the situation is, the owner is never trying to disrespect any of her employees, especially the ones with the greatest loyalty, what typically is happening is the owner is trying very hard to keep up with the change too and fails to recognize the effects from not properly communicating those changes to the rest of the team.
In the book Good to Great, author Jim Collins, uses a metaphor by comparing the business to a bus and the owner is the bus driver. He emphasizes the importance of continuously asking “First Who, Then What?” and suggests that leaders who build companies that have gone from good to great start with “who” first before they consider “where” they are heading. They start by getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats. And they stick with that discipline—first the people, then the direction—no matter how dire the circumstances.
Like the story I shared at the beginning, a fiercely loyal but isn’t performing employee was at one time a fiercely loyal always reliable employee or a FLARE - and at that time, not only did they deserved to be on the bus, they had a prominent seat and at times, they were offered the keys to do some of the driving. As the business matured, they were relegated to a seat that was unfamiliar to them and no one ever told them why.
In all fairness to any employee who at one time was fiercely loyal and always reliable and is now not performing, the opportunity should be made to allow this person to make the necessary changes needed to remain on the bus.
First, the owner should have a face to face meeting with the FLIP employee and communicate! Most of the time, a FLIP employee misinterprets less communication with the owner as the owners dissatisfaction or unhappiness with the employees performance. Begin your conversation by sharing stories (like the one I shared at the beginning of this article) that proves you do remember and appreciate the employee and shows how grateful you are for their years of loyalty.
Secondly, apologize that you haven’t properly addressed the changes occuring in the company, explain why you hired all the new employees as well as the additional employees you plan to hire and share the vision and an organization chart of where the company is heading.
Third, explain how the loyal employee fits into the future of the company by properly defining (in writing) their role and the results expected. Be sure you make it completely clear that the company is not the company that it once was when the FLIP employee was hired and as long as that employee is willing to accept their role, follow the company values and assist at building a healthy culture, they have a seat on the bus.
Lastly, describe some of the recent examples of poor behavior from that individual and ask him why he did that. Allow him the opportunity to recognize and acknowledge that behavior. Be sure to mention that behavior will no longer be tolerated because it does not follow the company values.
It should never be a surprise to the employee when they are fired. By following these steps and
meeting regularly, to update the performance of your FLIP employee, you have given him the opportunity to change back to the FLARE he once was. It will now be his responsibility to either accept your offer and change or be ready to get off the bus at the next stop.
I hope you have a great day!