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Demotion Process

L

Hello, 

I'd like to find out whether anyone has gone through or followed a process for a Demotion? What the process looked like and how it was handled in the "safest", smoothest way possible?

Possible reason for a demotion is performance in the role not performing at Director or Leadership level and a few other repeated issues. 

Would love to hear your ideas and thoughts on his topic 

Parents

  • Even when somebody is asking or willing to take a down-level in our organization, the medium to long-range outcomes are tough and usually dilutive. Leaders can't turn off being leaders, people who replace them can have a hard time with the dynamic of managing somebody who used to have their job. There's human dynamics of bitterness, jealousy, which at best can be subtle and passive aggressive and at worst- outright hostile. Where I've seen demotions not turn catastrophic: 

    1. Technical leaders who just want to quietly be back in the code and are more than happy to take a pay cut and ditch the leadership to do what they enjoy. 

    2. People who basically move into senior individual contributor jobs that are largely advisory- these are folks who may be away from a retirement milestone or months away from a major stock vest. They don't want the pressure of a leadership/management job but there is less risk to keep them than to eliminate the role. 

    Demotion as a form of performance management is a disaster waiting to happen most of the time- for the reasons stated above by Teresa, all of which I fully agree with, and because you typically end up trading a performance issue for an attitude/team dynamic one (and very likely still a performance one!)  

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  • Even when somebody is asking or willing to take a down-level in our organization, the medium to long-range outcomes are tough and usually dilutive. Leaders can't turn off being leaders, people who replace them can have a hard time with the dynamic of managing somebody who used to have their job. There's human dynamics of bitterness, jealousy, which at best can be subtle and passive aggressive and at worst- outright hostile. Where I've seen demotions not turn catastrophic: 

    1. Technical leaders who just want to quietly be back in the code and are more than happy to take a pay cut and ditch the leadership to do what they enjoy. 

    2. People who basically move into senior individual contributor jobs that are largely advisory- these are folks who may be away from a retirement milestone or months away from a major stock vest. They don't want the pressure of a leadership/management job but there is less risk to keep them than to eliminate the role. 

    Demotion as a form of performance management is a disaster waiting to happen most of the time- for the reasons stated above by Teresa, all of which I fully agree with, and because you typically end up trading a performance issue for an attitude/team dynamic one (and very likely still a performance one!)  

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