My Boss is Threatening to Fire Us!

[Published in Manila Bulletin in July 2011]

Bosses have different ways of motivating employees to improve their performance. Smart ones use several methods of reward and punishment and adjust their approach according to circumstances.

In my experience, I have found that rewards and punishments are equally effective depending on the situation and the type of people you have. But in general, people respond more to rewards, incentives, promotions, recognition and all the nice stuff.

Occasionally, however, punishments or “threats” may be warranted but using this can become counter-productive and dangerous too. If you threaten and put people down often enough, they might get paralyzed in fear and begin to lose focus. Instead of finding ways to improve performance, they might get caught up with just fighting the perceived threat.

Such is the case of a reader of mine. Let me share his story, my advice and some thoughts about motivating people.

Dear Ms. Jhoanna,

I am an avid reader of your column for more than two years now. I loved the way you do it, by way of giving everyone your PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE perspective, and my fervent prayer is that God will give you more talents and wisdom and add more years for you to live longer.

By the way I am “ABE”, 62 years old from Tarlac. I live with my wife, our 4 children and 3 grandsons. I’ve been connected for two years now to a real estate company as an AVP in Marketing. My position gives me a basic living subsidy, over-ride commissions plus the use of the company vehicle.

In the previous year, I used to be No. 3 among the 15 Marketing Directors. At times, I’d reach No. 1 and No. 2 ranking. When I was promoted as an AVP, I’ve been able to consistently land again at No. 3, sometimes No. 2 and even No. 1.

But 2 months ago, my Marketing Directors were transferred to another group. Hence, I am now in survival mode, currently at No. 3 among 4 AVPs.

My concern is that our EVP has been threatening me that he will dissolve our group if we don’t increase sales. As a result, we feel tremendous pressure almost every day, every week and every month.

What do you think should I do? Although I am determined to fight, the “THREAT” is becoming worse. Please kindly advise me.

Thank you very much and i hope you can help me. God bless, more power and good luck!

Sincerely yours,
Threatened Abe


My Response:

Thanks for avidly following my column for the past two years, Mr. Abe. I understand how pressure-filled Sales Jobs are and I hope that you'll be able to overcome your challenges and find abundance soon.

Regarding your work issues, allow me to share with you my thoughts...

From a relational perspective, it would be great if you can talk to your EVP and calmly explain to him that you understand how critical sales is for the company and that you are doing many things to increase sales. However, the approach (or "threat of dissolution") is becoming counter-productive to your sales team's morale. And that you would appreciate it very much if he'll try a different approach. Of course, you need to do this in such a way that he won't be offended or feel alienated by you.

From an emotional perspective, it would be great if you can find some sort of stress release. I know Sales is highly stressful since you need to reach your quotas. Two of our own company's top sales people actually had a very difficult time getting the numbers during the start of this year and this almost paralyzed them. To solve the problem, one of them opened up to management and sought support. The other one took a short retreat to reenergize herself. With the help of our Mancomm and some smart changes in their sales routine, things eventually improved and they are back on track.

From an HR perspective, I think it's wise to revisit the Employment Contract you signed with the company, as well as the company policies for Termination as it pertains to Sales People. Much of your protection will come from what type of employment you have, the provisions in your contract, the HR policies and processes in your company and the Philippine Labor Laws. Since a sales job is highly quantitative, much will be based on your sales results. Normally, verbal warnings are the first steps for disciplinary action. Written warnings carry more weight and these are actually needed for an employer to terminate employees if due process is to be followed.

Meanwhile, I think it's not yet too late. You still have your job. The real estate industry has been booming for the past few years. You can still focus and concentrate on generating more sales, despite the threat.

Motivating Employees

I wish I could talk to Mr. Abe’s boss and point out that his “threatening” approach is de-motivating his people. Since I don’t really know him, allow me to use this column to reach out to the bosses out there.

Fear is a potent tool. Its powers can motivate people to move, but it could just as easily demoralize people. I personally would only use it as a last resort.

The job of every boss is not just about pushing people to do what they want. Great bosses take the time to understand what drives their people and figure out what buttons to push to positively impact their subordinates. They also arm their people with the means and tools to let them achieve. They push, encourage, guide and support others be great at what they do.