Coaching, Mentoring and Managing: A Coach Guidebook

with the company’s owner before meeting with Becky, the team

member Rob suspected.

Becky was well-liked by every employee and was a favorite

with regular MacMasters customers. Her special talents with

system repairs as well as her quick sense of humor made everyone

appreciate her. Becky’s brother, Mark, was also a technician in the

service department. When Linda and Rob told Becky about the

disappearance of parts from her area, she hotly denied any

wrongdoing. Linda carefully explained that no one was being

accused — only questioned for any information they might have.

Over the next six months, more parts disappeared. When

questioned again, Becky claimed to know nothing about the

disappearance. Then Rob saw her slip a new memory board into

her briefcase before leaving work one day. When Becky was

dismissed three days later, she returned the parts or the dollar

equivalent of everything she had taken in order to avoid

prosecution. Out of deference to Becky’s brother, Mark, and out of

concern that customers might hesitate to trust their hardware to

MacMasters technicians, as well as possible legal ramifications,

the company did not tell service department personnel why Becky

was dismissed.

As a result, Linda and Rob became the target of much gossip

and ill will. Morale and productivity in Rob’s group plummeted,

and absenteeism rose dramatically. The person Rob hired to

replace Becky was met with such a cool reception from the other

team members that she resigned after only three weeks. Finally

Linda decided something must be done. After discussing it with

Rob, Linda met with Mark to tell him why his sister was dismissed

and to ask his permission to note only the specific, documented

reason for the termination. Having suspected the reason for

Becky’s departure, Mark quickly consented.

In a group meeting, Linda led a three-part discussion to:

1. Announce the reason for Becky’s dismissal.


2. Assign a committee to develop a plan to prevent similar
   problems in the future.


3. Announce a “MacMasters Night” at the ballpark, complete
   with tailgate party.

Coaching, Mentoring and Managing

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C A S E S T U D Y