You are the manager of a landscaping and paving company servicing lawns, patios, and driveways throughout Northwest Chicagoland. The practice has been around for eight years, and maintains thirty employees. One of your employees, until recently, was Mr. Jake Levy.

SCENARIO: You are the manager of a landscaping and paving company servicing lawns, patios, and driveways throughout Northwest Chicagoland. The practice has been around for eight years, and maintains thirty employees. One of your employees, until recently, was Mr. Jake Levy. Mr. Levy was one of the first people hired, and worked for years providing estimates and overseeing installations. Six months ago, though, you began to receive complaints about Mr. Levy, ranging from accusations of his deliberately underestimating bids in order to secure contracts, to showing up late or not at all to client meetings, to rude behavior with clients, to sub-par work in actual repair or installation. You investigated this behavior, and found the charges valid. Mr. Levy was given two months of probation, and when his behavior did not improve he was fired.

His dismissal, though, has now had an unexpected impact. He was popular among the staff and crews, and actually recruited many of them to work for the company. These people remember him as punctual, attentive, and friendly, and his (from their perspective) abrupt firing has raised questions about the company’s financial status and expectations for remaining employees, who are fearful and resentful. The company is profitable, though, and you have no plans to fire anyone else.

To make matters worse, Mr. Levy has been in contact with members of his former crew and telling them he was fired without warning or cause, while also telling others that he’s been dealing with a bad back, which prevented him from doing the work, and that you fired him for the medical issue. Both these claims are false, of course, but the rumors are taking hold.

You’ve decided you now need to address the issue. Drawing from techniques and ideas discussed in the reading for the day, draft a memo to your remaining employees explaining anything you think they need to know about Mr. Levy’s departure, and persuading them about the company’s faith and good standing.

Take approximately 20 minutes to complete this activity.

Requirements: all steps