by Stoney deGeyter

When you're a business owner or manager, disappointment comes with the job. I love running a business. I love working with people. I love managing an office where the team members don't hate coming to work on Mondays.

But business isn't always roses, and you often find out a lot about people once they are no longer in your employ. This is one of those stories.

One of the things that I have always strived to do is to create a work environment where the employees feel valued and are rewarded for their work. But, no matter how hard you try, you will inevitably hit times where you can't please everyone. And if you try, you'll just displease someone else.

A few years ago I had to face one of the toughest challenges as a business owner. We had expanded too rapidly, and the internal growth was not matched by growth in new client's coming in. Our payroll expenses had grown beyond our ability to bear, and layoffs were imminent.

For weeks I deliberated over what to do. Every option I could think of was on the table as I weighed the pros and cons of each. One option I was considering was borrowing money in order to keep my entire team in place, but I had already borrowed heavily to invest in the business and those loans were still being paid back. So, borrowing again, especially for an uncertain future, would only have made things more perilous for everyone.

One solution I came up with, and ultimately decided on, was to get the team together and ask them all to make a sacrifice as a group. I had already made sacrifices by cutting back on personal income for myself, so I presented what I considered to be a team unification idea. I asked everyone to take a 30% pay cut for three months. The team had to agree to this collectively for it to be a viable solution.

I had hoped this would unite the team together and that everyone would "circle the wagons". The team united, but not in the way I had hoped. In retrospect, I should have seen it coming. The idea itself didn't have much support by any of the team members, and it ultimately created a crisis of low moral. While I had assumed that letting a few employees go would have had a similar effect, I was caught off guard by how much resentment this particular idea had caused.

Then, the real disappointment started. My team was like my family. They were not perfect, but I always tried to be encouraging and supportive as they did their jobs. I did my best to make each member feel important and I worked hard to help them grow in their positions to achieve greatness.

Yet, suddenly... I was the bad guy.

I understand that the employer/employee relationship is always a bit strained. In a way, it tends to be an "us against them" mentality. But, I have tried very hard over the years to break down those barriers, and to create policies that were fair, forgiving, and flexible. I was not always successful, and not every decision was popular. Inevitably, something would rub someone the wrong way. That's just the nature of the job.

But, even with all that, I still tried to develop positive relationships and create an exciting work environment. So, I was completely thrown by the level of animosity over an idea that I had hoped would build unity.

By the next day, I knew I had to take the offer off the table. I had already been approached by some employees that they would not take a pay cut. And, even if some would, the environment had gone so sour that the across-the-board-temporary-pay-cut idea was no longer a viable option. The pool had been poisoned.

By taking the offer off of the table, it became clear that I would be forced to let some employees go. By the time the first round of layoffs was made, everyone was fearful that they were next.

(Is it wrong of me to find it funny that the highest paid employee, who adamantly refused to take the short-term cut because they were "worth more than that", was one of the first I had to let go? It's not right, I know, but you gotta see the irony.)

It wasn't long until I started seeing the signs of wear in other employees. As much as I tried to encourage them, moral was low, and there was almost no way to recover. Bitterness in the office had grown, and now layoffs were not so much essential because of the financial situation, but for the well-being of the environment.

Employees which I had struggled so hard to provide for and take care of were now looking out only for themselves. Don't get me wrong, I believe that everyone needs to take care of themselves and their families first. But, in this case, there was little regard for the needs of the company. I was still doing everything I could to rebuild the team and keep the "family" together, but the every-man-for-himself mentality had taken over.

This was one of the saddest situations I've ever experienced. It hurt me to see people that I knew and loved turn their back on me when I struggled for ways to rebuild. I continued to foster a positive environment, teach, and encourage the team to improve their skills on a daily basis. I was "in it" for them, only to find that many of them were in no way willing to reciprocate.

I knew I was not going to let this incident color my judgment going forward. And looking back now (several years later), I know that I have not.

I have learned quite a bit from the experience, though. I am far more cautious and careful in growing beyond our means and making sure there is a cushion available. I'll also look to continue to build a strong team, and hope to make better decisions when placed in stressful situations. I know not everything will be roses, and things may never be exactly as I want them to be. But, at the very least, I've learned some valuable lessons in the process, and I hope to never repeat the same mistakes from the past as we move forward into the future.

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