Mercy Killings Early Doors

How soon into a new salesperson’s time do you terminate their contract on the basis of a lack of performance?  Well, here’s a story to send shudders down any recruiters spine.

It’s set just now in Jo’Burg.  And as the world knows and connives, ‘affirmative action’, whilst laudable in principle is in reality being implemented disastrously.  (Ask Kevin Pietersen).  Anyway, this isn’t a rant on educational priorities, but on what happened when IBM there took on a new account manager.

For the first month, the sales manager tried to keep tabs on the new lady.  Repeated requests for activity updates went unproduced.  Then meetings arranged for the mornings went unattended.  With no activity, meeting nor communication, a sacking was surely inevitable …..yet the local labour laws made IBM’s HR whince away from action at that time.

Then one morning, after another false meet date, the boss arrived to stifled smirks and smiles all-round in the office.  That morning’s JoBurg paper ran a feature on up-and-coming black women, already making their mark.  And there for all to see was one, citing their account manager position at IBM as commercial credence, along with her other job….. reading the weather out for a major local radio station.

Unbelievable.

And what’s worse (S Africa watchers take note) is HR still shied away from sacking her due to the legislation imbalance, and were lucky she got given more airtime shortly after so jacked them in of her own accord.