Many, many years ago, we had an employee who committed a very serious misconduct.
We were in the staffing business, where our consultants prepared employment contracts daily for contract workers deployed to our clients. These contracts required an authorised signatory from senior management before they could be issued.
One day, a consultant had a stack of urgent contracts to send out, but she couldn’t find an authorised signatory.
So… she took matters into her own hands and did the unimaginable of forging the signature.
And she got caught.
Now… forging a signature is a very serious offence. In fact, it’s criminal. But after considering the circumstances, management decided to give her a second chance and issued her a stern warning instead of termination.
Though not terminated, she was still devastated. We all would be, no? Cried, lost confidence, and of course, struggled with her motivation.
But… n o t f o r l o n g.
Over the next six months, she picked herself up, worked incredibly hard and became one of our top-performing consultants again.
I remember during a management meeting, her name came up as one of the nominees for an employee award. My boss reminded us of what had happened six months earlier – instead of giving up after facing disciplinary action, she picked herself up and turned things around. And THAT was even more reason to recognise her achievements.
I couldn’t agree more. So I voted for her to win too.
As a young manager back then, that was when I learned that people deserve to be judged not only by their mistakes, but also by what they do to make things right.
Accountability matters. Actions must have consequences. But so does the opportunity to change.
xoxoxo, AuntyHR
