“Email Libel Is Forever Libel”
The Business of Furniture - 09/14/16 Edition
Stephen Says Column




Dear Stephen,

I just got a new job as VP of sales for a major company. The position had been open for about six months, and once I landed the job, I learned that two internal executives, who report to me, had both wanted my position. They were both interviewed and ultimately rejected because neither of them had enough management experience.

I am a woman with 20 years of executive management experience. As soon as I started, I decided to throw myself into this new job wholeheartedly and was perhaps a bit overzealous.

I have been working very closely with everyone, including my number-2, who was the national sales manager and who, I think, was the person who most wanted my job. After about 90 days of not-quite-insubordination, but hardly cooperation, he tendered his resignation and went to work for a direct competitor in a similar position.

I must say, I was happy to see him leave and thought I would replace him with someone new from outside the company with good energy. In the meantime, I have been filling in the gaps myself.

As part of the transition, I needed to go onto his computer to answer his emails as well as catch up with customers that he mentioned in his turnover report—this is standard operating procedure, I look through all of my ex-employees' emails once they leave. As I reviewed the previous three months of his emails, I noticed an abundance of unprofessional messages from all 14 subordinates that report to me.

The negative emails about me began on the very first day that I started! This guy didn't initiate all of these email threads, and it's quite clear that everyone else also seemed to want this person to get the promotion. It's now obvious to me that there was a concerted effort, orchestrated by this manager, to make my life miserable. All the evidence was on the company's email and phone servers.

These emails included profanity, personal attacks, and defamatory language about my physical appearance.

I am an experienced executive, so I know how this works. This is a group that has been working together for 10 years, so I wasn't that surprised, but what surprised me is that they were stupid enough to do it on their work email. I can't fire everyone because then I would have no one left to work for me. I reported the messages to the CEO, who was also prominently featured as an object of scorn in the email threads. He was just as shocked as I was, but I could tell he took it more personally since most of these people have worked for him for over 10 years, and he had signed off on all of these people when they were hired.

The issue is that the primary culprit, who started this nonsense, already quit and went to a competitor. If he were still at the company, the obvious decision would be to fire him, and even if the rest of the employees were upset about it, my point would be made. As it stands, I'm left with an existing staff each and every one of who libeled me on the company's email server. What am I supposed to do?

I'm concerned about bringing it up because I'm worried that confrontation will push them further away and they will start looking for other jobs. I'm between a rock and a hard place here. I feel like I need to bring this up, and I don't mind letting some people go, but there are others that I just cannot afford to lose right now. What's your advice?

-They Hate Me, They Really Hate Me
 

Dear They Hate Me,

Wow, what a story. Would you believe that is not the first time I have heard this sort of thing? People are just idiots when it comes to email today. Here is my Viscusism for workplace email: DO NOT put anything in email or text that you would not want to say in a deposition. Got it? You bring up an important point for everyone to remember: emails don't go away. Just because you no longer work somewhere, it doesn't mean that they wave a magic wand and make all that correspondence disappear. And even if you don't leave, I'd be willing to bet my whole bank account that when you started your job you signed a document that made it very clear that the company owned and could access any of your work emails at any time, for any reason. Everything that you write from your work account or to any of your colleagues' work accounts—whether you're sending the latest revenue numbers or sharing embarrassing pictures you found on your co-worker's Facebook page—is fair game for the company. We should all operate under the assumption that all of our work emails are being read in real time (and not just by the NSA, but by our bosses too). Deleting these emails doesn't do the trick either, just ask Hillary. If you have any second thoughts about sending an email, do not send it. It's that simple.

Now, on to how to deal with these stupid, stupid employees: it's a dicey situation. You really need to address each one of them individually. Print out copies of the emails, have them in front of you, and read them exactly what they wrote. Pick the juiciest dirtiest ones. Do not physically give anyone copies of any of the emails. Tear them up right in front of them after you read it. Then look them in the eyes and ask them what they meant by what they wrote. The room will be quiet, and it will be awkward. That's okay, it's good really. Just wait for an answer. Their answer will help guide your next step. Like you said, if they were smart, they'd know you have these emails and they'd be looking for other jobs. However, most employees that have been in a company for as long as those who you are describing will not find jobs that fast and probably don't really want to leave either. Bottom line is that you should start looking to replace at least some of these people, but judge each employee individually. This is one of those situations that you have to go with your gut. Some of them will start apologizing immediately and profusely; others will be obstinate and hardheaded, probably because they are embarrassed by their behavior. Keep track of how each employee reacts; it should be fairly obvious whom you are going to have to let go. I'm not sure that writing these insubordinate emails alone is enough of a reason to fire someone. That's up to HR and that's my final point to you.

You're a big shot, and this comes with the territory. It's not a popularity contest so don't take it personally. But it sounds likely that there are just going to be some morons who are unwilling to work for you. Cut those people loose.

Stephen
 

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Stephen Viscusi is a bestselling author, television personality, and CEO of The Viscusi Group,
global executive recruiters located in New York.
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