Comments

RadioShack: Unbelievable! It is so easy to be human, and still so many managers would prefer to lead robots.
Sometimes it is hard to face people and give them the bad news, but this is part of the duty of a manager.

Posted by Felix Enescu at August 31, 2006 4:23 PM

Re Radio Shack -- this ain't new. I just finished a patent case in which one of the inventors of the patent the plaintiffs were suing on had been fired -- by email -- on Christmas Eve -- by the VP of Engineering, who was now the plaintiff's CEO. Needless to say, he was not terribly helpful to them when they went to sue my client for $50M on this guy's patent. Ah, what goes around all too often comes around.

Posted by Richard Cauley at August 31, 2006 4:53 PM

Yes, what goes around surely does come around. Being from the great state of Texas, home to Radio Shack headquarters, I can assure you that Texans know how to handle this kind of treatment.

Stay tuned.

Posted by Kate at August 31, 2006 5:08 PM

That company -- and the lawsuit -- were both in Austin. 'Nuff said.

Posted by Richard Cauley at August 31, 2006 5:40 PM

The only thing I'd say, if not in defence then in mitigation for Radio Shack, is that when you've got a large number of layoff's to do, it's very difficult to get the message to everyone quickly and fairly. The downside of the face-to-face meeting is that if a manager has to lay off x number of people, then by the time the first 2 have been in to see him, everyone else in the office is waiting nervously and has a good idea of what's coming when they get the call to go see him.

The article says the employees were informed about the layoffs and told that the individual notifications would come by e-mail. What it doesn't make clear is whether the redundant employees were then given a face-to-face meeting to go through their individual circumstances. If this happened, then the whole story can be seen in a very different light.

It strikes me that a) Radio Shack were trying to make use of technology to do the notification part of the process fairly; and b) we've only heard part of the story here and shouldn't jump to conclusions.

Posted by Mark JF at September 1, 2006 2:48 AM

On a different note, the Improve Everywhere Home Depot bit was amusing and enlightening. Home Depot employees took notice--nervous giggles, questioning glances, following people around, etc. Other customers seemed to take absoulutely no notice whatsoever! What does that say about us?

Radio Shack: Why is an email layoff shameful? When Dell lays off 10,000 employees later this year will they each have a personal exit interview and a warm hug? No, there will be public lists and form letters in paycheck envelopes. Getting fired stinks and it doesn't matter the format that communication takes. Personal face-to-face is the best, but not always practical. As Dennis Leary put it so eloquently, "Life sucks, buy a helmet."

Posted by Mike at September 1, 2006 7:22 AM

E-Mail for ENDING Relationships for the relationship CHALLENGED amongst US ... TI as Model.

AND I prefer SPEED shopping ADRENILINE Powered at LOWES - totally loyal to LOWES - Home Depot okay though if they have cute associates.

Posted by sean at September 1, 2006 8:25 AM

Re: Radio Shack
Employees received notifications in e-mail.
Employees were allowed to post questions on the company intranet.

Sounds more like today's version of customer service.

Does your company have people who answer the phone or that annoying "Let me see if I can help you" computer voice?
Do you drive your customers to using eletronic communications means because it "scales" for your organization?
Does your company hide its telephone number on its website and encourage customers to email "Customer Care" and someone will get back to them in 24 hours?

Where is the surprise in layoffs by email? Sounds like most companies are moving in this direction for everything these days.

Posted by Jack at September 1, 2006 10:25 AM

Hello all,

I was recently laid off via conference call and to be honest with you, I don't think it makes a difference to me whether you get the news via email or phone call or face to face. Come on folks, its 2006 and email is readily accepted for just about ANYTHING else we do on a daily basis, why not a layoff?

Is it the press that maybe missed something here? I'm sure the press are hiding other important facts. I'm sure the company has made avenues available for the employees to disucss their specific issues and so on, so I just don't get the whole thing about email layoffs - so what! Layoffs suck ( no matter how it comes to you), get over it!

Chuck

Posted by chuck smith at September 1, 2006 12:11 PM

In the article about Radio Shack it states, "Sales of cellular phones, a key item for RadioShack, have been disappointing." I am not suprised. They are just a middle man for Sprint and basically cannot help you.

On another note, I loved the Slo-Mo Home Depot story! I don't know if I'd be brave enough to do something like that...

Posted by Holly at September 2, 2006 4:48 AM real viagra cheap

The past two days since reading about the Radio Shack e-Mail firings, my thoughts and feelings have swerved several times, avoiding taking a side on the issue. Today, I think I'm ready.

As a free-thinker, passionate doer, my corporate lifecycle is about three years; that is why most of my adult life has been spent as an entrepreneur. The point though is that corporations have asked me to find work elsewhere three times.

As I think back on those experiences, an e-Mail would have been just fine. I don't need to sit in a room with my VP and an HR manager to be told I am no longer needed. In fact, the face-to-face ordeal to me drives home the indignity of what is happening.

If ever there is another time (and there won't be, as I am perfectly happy running my own business), just send the e-Mail to my home address, so I don't have to return to the office.

Posted by Lewis Green at September 2, 2006 11:15 AM

NO!!!!!! Firing by email is not OK. It is never OK to treat people as anything but people. Don't treat them as cogs in the machine. Don't treat them like facial tissues. Don't treat them as "human resources." It makes no difference if some of them are OK with email firing or even prefer it.

Posted by Wally Bock at September 4, 2006 3:45 PM