If on Warning Letter, Should your Resign?

If you get put on a warning letter and think the chances of surviving are pretty low, should you wait til the last week of the warning letter and resign or ride it til the end?

I'm thinking it is better to resign because you can come up with a more plausable reason why you're not with the company when you're interviewing as opposed to lying because you got fired.

What do you all think?

 

I think it depends on your age and tenure. If you are young and won't get much severance, you might be better off to start interviewing right away, and then quit that last week, whether you have found another position or not.

However, if you are older and have been around long enough to get a big severance, you might want to make them fire you. Just make sure you dot every eye and cross every t of all the actions required in the WW. If you complete everything in good faith, and they say you are still not meeting expectations, you may be offered a severance. When my manager ran me off last year, I got 56 weeks severance.

Also, I would be in contact with your HR generalist to make them aware of any concerns of improper or unfair treatment you may be receiving from your manager. The company needs to know you have a side of the story as well as the manager's.

 

Tell your manager that you are putting them on a ww.

 

Do NOT resign. It doesn't matter if you are fired. Unless you are stupid enough to tell a prospective employer that you were fired it is illegal for BMS to tell anyone that you were fired. The only thing HR is allowed to confirm is the fact that you were employed and your employment dates. Period. If you resign you cannot collect unemployment. When you file for unemployment do not say you were fired. Say you were layed off. I doubt in these economic times BMS will fight you for wanting to collect unemployment. You've paid into it anyway!

 

No....don't resign. Actually, meet the terms of the WW and get back into good standing. You know one thing....getting another job in pharma sales is hard as hell......and takes a hell of a long time...even if you have prior experience. Do what you need to do to get back on track.

 

Thanks for this info. I have over 10 years with the company. I didn't know you can get a severance after being let go for not meeting expectations in the WW. I have been documenting all correspondence with my manager. Basically my sales suck and I'm being told I can't sell but I have evidence against to support positive behaviors. IE role play exericses by DBM's in different districts. I've gotten zero feedback or coaching in the last 3 months and virtually no correspondence with my boss in last 3 months. Asked me for a bunch of turn around business action plans which I gave my manager but manager had no input into process. It's just been, I want this stuff produce it for me by this date.

So yeah, I will go to HR generalist and give my side of the story and I've got alot of documentation to show. We'll see how it goes...

 

Got it. If you quit, you don't get severence and you can't get unemployment. I just have my pride and have never been let go before. I guess I have to swallow my pride.

 

If this is true, please take your documentation to your RBD. Your DBMS should be on a written warning.

 

This is a BMS tactic of getting rid of employees, instead of a mass layoff. Using the guise of poor performance and terminating employees is not going to make news on Wall Street. There are too many reps and if BMS has a layoff, that would have a negative impact on the BMS stock price.

BMS uses an inequitable performance metrics plan. This is intentional so eliminating employees will be easy in hopes of limiting potential lawsuits.

The only ones that are exempt from this tactic are the "specially chosen ones" that are protected by executive management. They are reassigned to another position so no attention is drawn to their poor performance and behavior.

 

I'm a DBM, you are the result of the increased accountability, whatever the fuck that is supposed to mean. The VPs have made it clear to RBDs and therefore DBMs that lowest performers must go. Past record does not mean a whole lot anymore. We DBMs know that the RBDs have the same instructions on us.

Good luck, the numbers are a joke and everyone knows it,but will never admit it. It would lead to many lawsuits.

 

Well I guess I got to go through the gauntlet to get my severence. I'll try and find another job while this is happening but it's pretty barren out their.

 

Maybe my manager is...

 

Interesting that you mention the role play exercises. Before my manager ran me off last year for inadequate "BMS behaviors", we had a POA in January, at which we had one of those "BMS City" events, where you have to make presentations to doctors, med students, dbms and such. I did 3 or 4 presentations, and received some great feedback from those I presented to.

During the process of my manager getting rid of me, she refused to show me my results from those POA presentations, nor would HR make any effort to find out my results. Inquiring minds want to know why.

 

Do not take it personal, we all know that their is a lot going on with managed care, territories changing and sometimes you just have BAD luck. Anyone who has been around a long time knows this is true. I agree with above posters, do not quit, this is a personal issue and they can't share. Keep networking and you will be suprised what might come up. If you have had a strong past that will over shadow a bad year. Just get your ducks in a row and start looking. I would be very specific what you are looking for, don't just take a position, unless you have to. There are positions out there and stay strong. Good luck! Lastly, unlike many postings, there can be so much negativity, I am glad you are getting positive feedback.

 

Great, I guess once the behaviors are called into question, then they've got you. I know they can't get you on numbers alone so they go after the behaviors. I have not gotten any feedback from my manager about my role plays either. Although it was a DBM and the RBD who witnessed my role plays I can tell H.R. to solicit that information from them. But if they are looking for "patterns" of sub-par behaviors then one role play that goes well will not make a difference.

 

It just sucks being sucked into a black hole and not knowing what the outcome is going to be. Do they really think someone can perform the work at it's best under these conditions? I guess they don't care. Thanks for the support. I will post back when I know the outcome.

 

A written warning is code for "they want you out", you can hold on for severance but unless it is a lot, I would be job hunting.

 

Do everything they ask of you on the WW. Make your managers job harder in the process. Remember, your manager has to do things for/with 9-10 reps. They have a heavy workload. Make it heavier. Constant emails to them, follow-up with them constantly on the phone, email, text- absolutely inundate them. Have fun with it and you have won no matter the outcome.

 

How funny - but true!!

 

Specialty have the same tactics being used on them. To call them " chosen" is a misconception. If you don't perform in this organization, you're gone. And even if you are performing, if somebody doesn't like you, you're gone!