President says Ronny Jackson knows military challenges firsthand,
Trump announcements disrespect staff, some say
In President Trump’s White House, getting the ax over social media is a very real possibility.
After all, what’s off limits when the secretary of State’s ouster is announced via the @realdonaldtrump feed?
Personnel moves at the White House are one thing, but getting fired by tweet probably would have devastating ramifications for most managers or organizations, let alone the person getting the boot.
But Trump’s just-put-it-out-there form of management may soon feel less jarring — and perhaps accepted — if people become more comfortable with digital criticism.
Trump tweeted the firing and replacement of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin on Wednesday, weeks after he typed a farewell to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Such a tactic would be unthinkable to many human resources experts, who argued it would signal a culture of disrespect guaranteed to turn away good employees.
Outside of an egregious situation in which an employee would be quickly fired for a horrendous act, HR veteran William Tincup wondered why staff terminations would be handled in such a manner.
“If this is your treatment of people ... then what’s to be expected with the next person you hire?” asked Tincup, president of recruitingdaily.com.
There were firings over social media in the platform’s early days, Tincup said, but since then, bigger companies have learned not to risk their reputations.
“Firing someone over Twitter is not a decent thing to do, no matter what,” Tincup said. “Will it become en vogue? Only for dumb people.”
Tweeting a firing could bring defamation lawsuits by fired employees.
“Even if you’re not really fired, it’s over,” said Rikka Brandon, a small-business hiring expert. “You’re about to be really fired.”
Should such a thing happen, she suggested that the worker reach out to human resources to make sure.
Experts said they don’t expect Twitter firings to become common practice, but Trump’s very public way of cleaning house could be a sign of things to come.
Generation Z, the youngsters following Millennials, may enter the workforce more accustomed to such an idea.
“I do see something like being fired via Twitter having the potential to bleed back into the workforce and have these people in the workforce think this is acceptable,” said Jason Averbook, a Los Angeles-based HR management consultant.
Employers will have to train employees and managers to conduct interactions such as performance reviews in person, not over social media, email or Slack, he said.
“As new leaders enter the organization, we can’t just assume that they know how to have conversations,” Averbook said.
As for why the president uses Twitter to announce his personnel decisions, Tincup suggested it’s simple:
“I don’t know if that’s hubris or what’s at play there, but he just doesn’t care.”