StartupTalky

Tag: Terminate Employees

  • Why Investors Are Investigating Top Executives?

    The top executives of a company are some of the most important people for their business. The CEOs, CFOS and other executives are actually responsible for the overall success of a company, all the significant decisions are taken by them and they are the people that keep the business together. However, we all know ‘Teamwork makes the dream work.’ Apart from the executives being the brain of the company, the employees are also the heart and a business needs both for their survival.

    An employee can be said to be the most important asset of an organization, they are the ones with whose help the proper functioning of a business can happen. Although, they are the subordinates of the top executives they are as important as them. Plus the executive’s behaviour in real life shows their actual character; their behaviour makes them the person they are. Recently, a few actions of some top executives with people of lower rank have created big controversies and they are on the end of receiving backlashes. Companies are surely suffering because of that, images of those companies are crumbling down and investors are now in turmoil about who to trust and who to not.

    Therefore Investors now have decided to launch investigations to examine the behaviour of founders, CEOs and other executives of a startup in their daily lives. In this article, we will find out what has led to this situation and how investigations are conducted. So without any further ado, let’s get started.

    “The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel. And if your employees don’t feel valued, neither will your customers.” -Sybil F. Stershic

    The Controversy of Ashneer Grover
    Similar Past Incidents
    Why Investors are Investigating Top Executives?
    What Are the Important Things Investigators Are Investing?

    The Controversy of Ashneer Grover

    This entire situation started when an audio clip of Ashneer Grover, the co-founder of BharatPe was seen doing rounds on social media where it can be heard that Grover is insulting, threatening and abusing a bank employee. Although the co-founder of BharatPe denied the accusation, Kotak has decided to take legal action against Grover for hurling abuses and using inappropriate language while communicating with the bank’s employee.

    A few days later an email exchange between Hashjit Sethi of Sequoia India came up where again Grover was seen using abuses while conversing with the former. Post this scenario, Ashneer Grover decided to take a leave of absence for two months.

    Similar Past Incidents

    The case of Ashneer Grover was not the first one and it is certainly not going to be the last, as similar incidents are surfacing recently. As we dwell deeper, there are instances where these types of the same situations have occurred in the past. Some of the incidents are:

    • The former CEO of Flipkart, Binny Bansal shocks the world when he resigns from his position after he faced allegations of serious personal misconduct in 2018, an investigation was conducted followed by the allegations.
    • In 2018, ICICI Bank’s then CEO and managing director Chanda Kochhar faced allegations of nepotism and multiple agency probes against her, this situation led to her quitting her job.
    • Another instance happened when Manu Sawhney, the CEO of ICC was instructed to go on leave when an investigation by a UK based agency happened where it shows his behavioural misconduct. He was allegedly behaved arrogantly and was firing employees without any proper reason plus he was also bullying many staff members. This led to an investigation and he was asked to go on leave.
    • In 2022, fashion E-commerce site, Zilingo suspended Ankiti Bose, the Chief executive and  Indian founder of the E-commerce site for some alleged irregularities in the accounting part of the company. This has led to her suspension which is valid till 5th May 2022.

    Why Investors are Investigating Top Executives?

    The step was taken after the controversial situation of BharatPe’s Co-founder Ashneer Grover arose. Investors are now concerned so they are taking the help of investigating firms and forensic teams of known accounting companies to conduct an investigation on the behaviours of top executives. These things are done to make sure:

    • There will be no controversies regarding their behaviour which may lead to a bad image of the startup.
    • To decrease the chances of fraud-related issues in the company in the future.

    Misbehaviour of top executives is actually a red flag for the investors that things might go wrong in the near future if they carry on with their behaviour. If a wrong executive is hired, it will harm the brand image of the company.

    What Are the Important Things Investigators Are Investing?

    A person behaviour’s toward their subordinates or the people who are of lesser rank shows the actual personality of a person. A startup depends on the hard work and the passion that can be found in the executives but its image also depends on the character of the key executives. The work culture of a company is extremely important. The key things of executives that are getting investigated are:

    • Their behaviour with their subordinates.
    • Their social media behaviour and if they are getting into petty arguments that are not necessary.
    • If they have any illegal substances with them or consume them.
    • If there is any traffic violation done by them.

    Conclusion

    Just because someone is in a higher position doesn’t mean that they have the right to misbehave with others. Being humble and kind is never a mistake; in fact, it gives a safe feeling to your subordinates that they are in the right company. Toxic culture will only lead to bad performance as well as a bad image of the . also helps in strengthening the brand image of the company.

    FAQs

    Why are investors investigating top executives?

    After the Ashneer Grover controversy, many investors were worried about getting their brand image tarnished which led them to investigate top execs’ behaviour.

    What are the things investigators are investing against the top executives?

    Investors are hiring firms to investigate the behaviour of founders and top executives on social media and their behaviour towards their employees.

  • Why Did Better.com Fired 3000 Employees and Where Did They Go Wrong?

    When you start a business, apart from ideas, funds and a proper plan, you need people to work on that plan and execute it in a perfect way and those people are your employees, they are the driving force of an organization. Your employees are your assets, they are the ones who can make or break your company because a company is as good as its employees.

    An employee’s efficiency can be found in the productivity of your business, they serve the customers along with you. Therefore, if you want to keep your business alive, you also need to take care of your employees, not only through monetary terms but from all around. Your internal public is as valuable as your external public.

    Recently, Better.Com has fired 3000 employees, without any prior notice. In this article, we will talk about the reason for firing so many employees and what did the company do wrong. So without any further ado, let’s get right into the business.

    “Employees are the key to your success with customers. Treat them well!” — Ron Kaufman

    About Better.com
    Fired 900 Employees Over Zoom Call
    The Backlash From the Public
    Termination of 3000 Employees
    Reasons for the Lay Off
    Where did Better.com Go Wrong?

    About Better.com

    Better.com is an American company that provides mortgage lending and financing-related services through its online platform. The company was founded in the year 2014 by Vishal Garg and started its first business, Better Mortgage in 2016.

    Vishal Garg, Founder and CEO of Better.com
    Vishal Garg, Founder and CEO of Better.com

    The company is the direct lender of conventional loans, jumbo loans, fixed-rate mortgages, adjustable-rate mortgages and refinancing loans. The online mortgage company is backed by Softbank.

    One of the attractive features of the company is that it does not take loan origination fees while providing loans. The headquarters of the company is situated in New York, United States of America.

    Fired 900 Employees Over Zoom Call

    Things took a wrong turn when, the digital mortgage company in 2021, on the month of December fired 900 employees over a Zoom Call. In a simple Zoom call, CEO Vishal Garg of the company announced that 900 of the employees, who were part of the Zoom call, are fired from their job.

    The sudden terminations of those employees were met with a negative response around the world. The reasons for the termination were the lack of productivity and efficiency of the employees.

    The Backlash From the Public

    The sudden move by the company and its CEO received severe backlash from the world, as no prior notice was provided to them before their termination and created a negative impression of the company in the business industry.  

    The move was done after the company received a $750 million cash infusion. Following this incident, the CEO of the company, Vishal Garg stepped down from his position and took a break after being criticized by the public for this step.

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    Termination of 3000 Employees

    After Garg’s break, he returned to his prior position. The situation grabbed the headlines and the action was criticised by general people for being extremely insensitive.

    As mentioned above, before firing the 900 employees, Better.com has done a similar deed last year as well. After just a couple of months later, on March 8, Better.com again has sacked 3000 of its employees from their position in the United States of America and India.

    The employees received their cheques in the payroll app and the way they got sacked was not at all in a good way as most of their computers got shut down in the middle of their work.

    Amanda Bullard, Better.com
    Amanda Bullard, Better.com

    Reasons for the Lay Off

    The first reason for the termination of the employees is the rise of interest value which has led to a drop in the origination value. The company let 35% of its workforce go. The company again said that efficiency is quite a big concern, so they are also laying employees off for that reason.

    Where did Better.com Go Wrong?

    The first fault is the lack of communication. Any kind of business need communication, lack of it will lead to problems only. Better.com has done the same thing twice, without having proper communication with their employees, the company is firing them. The employees were not given notice of their termination. This has created a negative impression of the company around the world.

    Employees shared their experiences on different social media platforms, which has again created a stir. Bad word of mouth has been spread regarding the company, which somehow is affecting the company’s reputation.

    Kiana Brown, Better.com
    Kiana Brown, Better.com

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    Conclusion

    As mentioned before the company is as good as its employees and the employer has every right to fire those who are not efficient enough and are not able to provide productivity. However, firing the employees must be done in such a way that it will not crush them entirely, proper communication is necessary while doing that.

    FAQs

    Why is Better.com laying off employees?

    Better.com laid off employees citing the reason efficiency is a big concern for the company.

    Who founded Better.com?

    Better.com was founded by Vishal Garg in 2014.

    When was Better.com founded?

    Better.com was founded in the year 2014 by Vishal Garg.

  • How to Terminate Employee -Termination Guidelines

    Losing a job as an employee is traumatizing. It is a difficult task for an employer to declare to someone that their payroll is taken away and they are not a part of the company now. This has a lot of effect on people’s careers and lower self-esteem. It is also considered a loss of livelihood. In a workplace, people bond in such a way that when one of the team members goes, it affects the rest. How you handle the situation, how you fire an employee with an attitude from your company determines how people will judge you as the boss. It brings job security issues among other employees.

    IBM has terminated more than 100000 employees in the last few years & the same thing is happening in other big companies. As the boss, you don’t just enter into a working space, and make a shout to someone that you are fired. This is illegal, unprofessional and is against work ethics. Before terminating somebody’s salary, assess employees performance challenges, warn and document justification. The following are some of the basic procedures that can be used to fire an employee with a bad attitude from your company.

    Understand Employer’s Rights
    Define Clear Expectations
    Publish Set Discipline Policies
    Take Charge of Constructive Discharge
    Organize a Termination Meeting
    Conduct Exit Interview

    Understand Employer’s Rights

    Most employers ignore or think they are playing safe by not issuing employment contracts to employees. In this case, employment is considered as at-will terms (oral contract). Employers take this to their advantage and fire Employees with bad attitudes anyhow. Sometimes they fire with reasons and time with no apparent reason. Employees in such a case are at liberty to leave the company anytime. An employment contract provides job security to employees and stipulates clearly grounds for termination of services. An oral contract is based on the cause of dishonesty, position declared redundant, poor performance and insubordination.

    Define Clear Expectations

    When getting an employee on board, set the clear groundwork. Write down expectations right from the beginning. Job description highlights the tasks and might change based on the emerging needs of the organization. Pin Set policies and guidelines somewhere on how specific tasks should be done. You can easily tell when a certain rule has been broken. Where possible, document and let employees append signatures for adherence. Employers can terminate services based on this.

    Publish Set Discipline Policies

    Policies on progressive discipline should be set. Bosses should enforce and emphasize this as the court expects you to abide by them. Policies will help you to tell where there is a problem that needs attention. Employers have a right to terminate the contract as a result of gross misconduct or poor performance.

    Take Charge of Constructive Discharge

    Claims about constructive discharge can be a result of salary reduction, demotion, termination threats and agreed transfers. Employees may raise claims about poor working conditions and situations that have forced them to quit the job. Employers should be equipped with federal employment laws so they will not be accused of poor working conditions.

    Organize a Termination Meeting

    After evaluating all the reasons why an employee with a bad attitude should be fired, documented the right information to support the action. When it reaches the time to disclose this to an employee, be etiquette so they may leave in peace and dignity. This prevents employees from returning with a lawsuit. Respond to any query an employee might have. Summarize the employee documented grounds for terminating and don’t generalize. Give the employee a chance also to express themselves.

    Conduct Exit Interview

    It is not a waste of time for employers to conduct an exit interview. Feedbacks are important as they give you an overview and highlight areas that need improvement and necessary measures to be taken. Let the Employee with a bad attitude fill in the interview exit form that will act as a reference. If addressed seriously, it can create a better working place for other employees.

    Conclusion

    Labour laws protect employees from any form of abuse in the working environment. Traumatization and depression can occur as a result of the termination. Therefore, the termination process should be conducted in a careful and transparent manner after a serious discussion with the employee and taking necessary measures that are needed throughout the process.

    FAQs

    What are the reasons to terminate an employee?

    There can be many reasons one can terminate an employee, the most common ones are, incompetence, attendance issues and dishonesty towards the work.

    When can an employer terminate an employee?

    The employer should give at least a 30 day notice period before firing an employee.

    Does HR need to be present during the termination of an employee?

    It is better if a member of the HR department is present during the termination of an employee.