BATON ROUGE, LA – Leaving the 2022 Service Management Forum in Houston, TX, Chris DeMers of CMC Corporate Solutions was inspired and fired up. During his drive back to Louisiana, an employee that was recently let go for attendance and tardiness issues called to express their feelings and asked for another chance to work for CMC. DeMers thought back to the Hiring and Retaining Employees presentation given by Joel Knight of Harvey W. Hottel during the forum. In Knight’s experience, he found immense success in having an exit interview to not only hear the what, but also understand the why.

“As a leader, it was my chance to make sure our former employee knew exactly what he needed to correct in order for him to be successful even though it might not be with CMC,” DeMers said. Knight’s presentation highlighted a leader’s role in the HVAC Industry, saying “It is our responsibility as a leader in our companies and as a leader in the HVAC industry to give individuals the tools to be successful even when we are dismissing them from our companies.” DeMers took this advice and said to the former employee “working for CMC has expectations and failing to meet them regarding attendance is what led to his dismissal and is what he needed to correct in order for him to be successful in his future career.” CMC culture and standards are greatly valued and any negative contributions are not accepted.

“I know that attending this forum completely changed the way I addressed this issue,” DeMers explained. “Prior to attending this Service Managers Forum, I most likely would have dismissed the former employee with an apology and wishing the employee luck in their future.” However, DeMers understands by advising the individual to work on the specific aspects that prevented their success, it allows for potential future growth and the possibility for the employee to return in the future if these issues are corrected.