It isn’t too often that I can tell you a story like this. So enjoy it, because in this economy, situations like this are far and few. For one of the vendors that my company works with, I’ve had the same account representative for six years. She does a very good job. She is high performing, quick to respond, thorough, goes above and beyond and most of all – I can count on her.
Well, out of the blue a few weeks ago, I received a letter from the vendor company’s CEO stating that they had to do a few layoffs, including the woman I mentioned above. Now…I’ve done hundreds of layoffs in my career, and understand why and when it needs to happen. But this one was difficult to swallow, because of my high respect for the woman who was my liaison. After thinking about it, I decided to write a personal letter to their company’s CEO. I explained who I was and that I 100% understood why difficult business decisions like this need to be made. But I expressed despair over the unfortunate layoff of one of their best employees. Again, their business needs and/or decisions are none of my business…I just felt it was a shame that someone who did such a good job had to go. Again, I know it happens, but I felt better after telling them how awesome she was.
Well…apparently I wasn’t the only one who contacted the CEO. Due to the responses they received about this woman’s layoff, they decided to rehire her. She called the other day to thank me for taking the time to speak out. In hindsight, sending the letter was a risk, because they could have told me to mind my own business. But at the end of the day, it’s a happy ending for all involved. And I’ll take that over someone losing their job any day of the week.