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If, as an employer, you’ve already won the fight, why would you pick the fight all over again?
I’ve written several times about the value of motivating staff, about understanding staff needs and the importance of staff retention.
Still, there are some times when the fit just isn’t there, or when a staff member’s transgression is serious enough it’s time to part ways.
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Manitoba’s NDP government found itself in that position with its former teacher conduct commissioner, Bobbi Taillefer, who was working the majority of her time on the government’s payroll from Florida.
It is interesting that her Florida location only seemed to become a problem when the Free Press found out about it and asked Education Minister Tracy Schmidt’s office for comment, but I digress.
Very quickly, the government announced Taillefer had resigned. So quick was the announcement the word “resigned” should have been taken with more than a few grains of salt. Still, problem over, right?
Not so fast, said Premier Wab Kinew.
“What’s been described as a resignation was actually a firing,” Kinew told reporters, as reported by Steve Lambert of The Canadian Press.
Premier Wab Kinew (Mike Deal / Free Press files)
Kinew has quite the knack for extending the news cycle for unpleasant stories. A story that would have died with her resignation now had legs for several more stories, including when Tory Leader Obby Khan produced documents he said proved Taillefer resigned.
He did a similar thing when he tossed MLA Mark Wasyliw from the NDP caucus, raising Wasyliw’s law partner’s work as a reason, giving the story at least another week of legs and stoking outrage among the province’s legal community.
It may be different in politics, where the money you might spend defending or paying out a wrongful termination lawsuit isn’t yours, but in business the smart move — the only move, really — is to take the win and move on.
Once both parties have moved on, anything you say can and will be used against you in court, so zipped lips are a must.
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