Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1509248
And yet, some people out there expressed not just 'an- ger, shock and indignation', to hear the same old thing repeated for the umpteenth time… but even accused Brincat herself of (directly or indirectly) 'committing a crime'. The current Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Disability, for instance, de- scribed Brincat's comments as 'hate speech'. And the for- mer Commissioner, Oliver Scicluna, posted: "I have no intention to attack Phyllisi- enne because I believe and want to keep believing she is a good woman, but I cannot not comment… When we ridicule a person with a dis- ability, especially when they do not always understand we are mocking them, according to many this is atrocious… Saying that someone with a disability is the fruit of sin is another atrocity." Most interesting of all, however: Public Broadcast- ing Services - which (as The Times naughtily reminds us) 'aired the show that Brincat was a guest on' – "publicly dissociated itself from her comments: 'What Ms Brin- cat said goes against the val- ues we promote as a national broadcaster', PBS said…" … which, I suppose, rais- es the inevitable question: "Then why the bleeding hell did you even give her a platform to air those views, publicly: especially when you ALREADY KNEW precisely what she was going to say?!" Having said this, though: there is still nothing really 'wrong' with any of those comments… insofar as (like Brincat's) they represent 'ex- pressions of personal opin- ion'. But there are a couple is- sues here that I, too, cannot 'not comment about'. One: the same Oliver Sci- cluna who is now reluctant to 'attack' Ms Brincat – ap- parently on the basis that: a) he knows her personally; and b) 'Awww, she's such a sweet lady!' – was also the one who reported a certain 'Luke Mi- halic, 29, from Naxxar' to the police, over a Facebook meme which 'mocked Down Syndrome sufferers'. OK, let's pause there for a second. Are the two scenar- ios entirely comparable? Per- haps not: in the sense that Ms Brincat seems to have been expressing a genuine (albeit nauseating) 'personal be- lief'… while Mr Mihalic was poking (equally nauseating) fun at people with disabili- ties, merely for its own sake. Other than that, however: the two cases do have a lot in common. Judging by the fact that Luke Mihalic actually posted that (admittedly very tasteless) joke online… it is evident that he himself either found it genuinely 'funny' enough, to be worth sharing; or (likelier, I should think, given that the Facebook group was called 'Uncen- sored Jokes Malta') he firmly believes that he has at least the RIGHT to post it… even if just as an act of 'defiance', against what he considers to be 'censorship'. And I would even venture to add that: Luke Mihalic probably 'believes' in either of those things – and there could be other possibilities – every bit as 'fervently' (or 'blindly') as Ms Brincat be- lieves in her own interpreta- tion of the Bible. So… erm… can anyone ex- plain to me why Ms Brincat got away with just a barrage of (mostly personal) 'out- rage'… while Like Mihalic was convicted of 'misuse of computer equipment', and fined a scarcely-even-believ- able… E10,000!!! [Yes, folks, you read that right: 'TEN THOUSAND SMACKER- OONIES!!!!']. Now THAT is what I call an 'outrage', myself. So like I was saying earlier: maybe it's time to update all those obsolete dictionary definitions, once and for all… TERMINATIONS, whether voluntary or other- wise, are one of the toughest parts of being a man- ager. While some people or companies may choose to delegate this uncomfortable business to the HR manager, I feel it is always preferable for the team leader to communicate with and support the would-be terminated individual directly. Legal ex- perts will probably advise against the level of trans- parency that I suggest in this article. Accepting the risks involved, on the rare occasions that I need to do this difficult thing, I prefer doing it my way. A termination is a very personal and significant event. Your decision to discontinue an employment can send waves of chaos into the individual's life, and the ensuing ripples may persist into the future. A job is a form of identity and while not everyone attaches themselves to it in the same way, work is a person's primary contribution to society. However, muddled with corporate language, being told you are fired is a shock that no amount of sugar coating can soften. There are many good practices that will allow you to minimise the need for even having such a difficult conversation in the first place - it is very possible for a sufficiently good manager to avoid terminations altogether. However avoidable, there may come a point when you need to end someone's employment - and such news could have devastat- ing consequences on the person in front of you. In an effort to avoid having this difficult conversation, some entertain the terrible idea of making life for the individual miserable with the hope that they leave by their own volition. Such an approach is de- humanising to say the least. Sometimes the reason for termination is as clear as day; both the employee and employer know very well that things are not working out - the person may not have the skills to complete the job that is expected of them (despite clear expectations from the get-go), may have lost their interest to take the job seriously or even committed some inexcusable violation. Other situations are less clear; and these are much harder to handle. You may very well need to break the bad news to an otherwise successful and accomplished person - for one reason or another they are simply not performing sufficiently within the role that they have been entrusted with. May- be the worst termination of all is that involving a loved but non-performing member of the team. If they do not agree with your perspective, they will have a harder time accepting the finality of the decision. If the team sees the intervention as extreme, you as a manager are in an even harder spot. All terminations need to be handled sensitive- ly and it is critical that this conversation is had in a clear and direct manner. It is very insulting and dehumanising to make external forces such as 'the market', 'the situation', 'the company' or 'the circumstances' as the focus of your conversation. Your words should not take away your agency in the matter; ensure you keep your humanity at the forefront of this conversation and do not divert the responsibility of the decision from yourself onto others. No matter how strong the role of external fac- tors was in your decision-making process, a good manager owns the decision. The ultimate deci- sion should reside with the person delivering the news; and owning that decision is the most re- spectful thing you can do to the person in front of you. If you've been doing your job as a manager well enough, the facts of the situation should be well understood and readily available; fortunately, there are many tools and techniques that you can use during the tenure of every employee to facilitate performance management, progression and clear communication. When that is the case, the severity of such a situation would not come as a surprise to either party. Before you start this conversation, make sure you are equipped with all the relevant information. During the conversation, you must outline what is not working and why you believe that the situation cannot be changed for the better. Ultimately this needs to be a very crisp message. In your efforts to be empathetic, it can transpire that the finality of your decision is lost in transla- tion - some people might require more time to truly digest the significance of the conversation. Assum- ing the decision has to be made, you may need to repeat your message to ensure the other party is understanding the implications. Everyone is human - we all need a sense of pur- pose and more importantly we all need to earn a living. Also remember that some people live pay check to pay check. Appreciating how overwhelm- ing financial stress can be, whenever possible you should go above and beyond your legal obligations to provide the employee with as much financial as- sistance as possible. Giving the employee the time and opportunity to perform their job search can prove to be very helpful. While you may need them to vacate their desk as soon as possible, consider of- fering to sustain them with their monthly salary for a couple of months. Setting a deadline is important, but during that period do your utmost to help them find their next job. The best way to reduce such difficult situations is to avoid the need for terminations in the first place. This can only be achieved through an improved hiring process, a detailed induction process and an intense focus on individual and team growth. If you are having too many of these conversations, you may want to reconsider your managerial style and company culture. As an HR manager or business owner, it is most wise to keep a close eye on retention rates, termina- tion frequency and all the associated reasons. At Expedition 42 we are committed to helping you improve organisational wellbeing, and with Talexio we are on a mission to provide the best HR tools to facilitate communication, enhance engagement and empower personal and professional growth. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 OCTOBER 2023 OPINION 11 Mark Camilleri Gambin Mark Camilleri Gambin is Chief Product Officer at Expedition42 and co-founder of Talexio - a complete HR software focused on improving organisation wellbeing Job terminations: Delivering the bad news transparently