At a glance
Client: Small cleaning company
Issue: Remote sales rep with declining performance and emerging conduct issues
Approach: Facilitated honest conversation with the owner and employee
Outcome: Employee resigned voluntarily and left on good terms
The challenge
A small cleaning company employed a sales representative who worked remotely. Early on, he performed well. He was hitting his goals and doing the job properly. Over time, that changed. His performance dropped away. Conduct issues began to appear alongside it. The company issued him with a formal warning. It worked for a short period, and his performance lifted. But it did not hold. He returned to the same pattern. None of the behaviour was outrageous. It was a steady decline rather than a single serious incident. But it was clear something had to be done.
What we did
We arranged a meeting with the employee. The business owner and I attended together. The approach was simple. We put the cards on the table and told him what we could see. We described the pattern in his performance and conduct, and what it was telling us. Then we said it plainly: “It doesn’t sound like you’re happy here. The things we’re seeing you doing, and the things you’re not doing, say that you’re not happy in your role anymore.” From there the conversation opened up. We talked about personality types and what kind of work suits different people. We talked about where he was at in life. He was a young bloke still living at home with his parents, with plenty of options ahead of him. We did not push for a decision in the room. We gave him the weekend to think it over.
The outcome
He came back and chose to resign. He could see the writing on the wall himself. The profession he was in was not the right fit for him at that point in his life. He went on to further study instead. The owner and the employee were able to shake hands and part on good terms. No termination. No dispute. No damage to the working relationship on the way out.
Why it worked
Three things made the difference.
- We described behaviour, not character. Stating what was observed kept the conversation factual and stopped it turning into an argument.
- We asked rather than told. Raising the question of whether he was still happy in the role let him reach his own conclusion.
- We gave him time. A weekend to reflect turned a difficult conversation into a considered decision.
The result we aim for
Not every situation ends this way. But this is the outcome we work towards: the issue resolved, the business protected, and both parties able to walk away with their dignity intact. If you have an employee whose performance or conduct is going backwards, and a warning has not fixed it, there is usually more than one way forward.
