I had recently been transferred as Supply Chain Head to one of the largest state, reporting to the CEO who immediately tasked me to lead following projects
During the discussions, he also asked me to sack one of supply chain executive. On inquiring what is the reason for such a decision, CEO informed that the feedback about the concerned employee is not good and integrity may be doubtful, however there is no proof.
I requested the CEO for time and promised to get to the truth of matter.
I met the CEO’s executive team i.e. my colleagues, my team, user groups, suppliers during next 4-6 weeks, to understand the challenges, expectations, support.
First few weeks at a job are crucial as everything is new – the situation, team members, suppliers, colleagues etc. One needs to understand and navigate quickly in addition to showcase some early wins to gain a foothold.
During these meetings, I identified key improvement projects for next 3-6 months in addition to the CEO’s projects. I was worried about the ethics, integrity of my team more than anything. I was responsible for 70% plus of the organization spend, except few areas e.g. employee costs, government levies, bad debts etc. Someone in purchase team whose ethics are under question can derail the efforts.
I spoke to the said employee’s manager, but he did not have any inkling. I did pick up one hint from one of the user function about a team member’s integrity but again with no concrete name or proof. It was a puzzle to be solved on priority. No delay was acceptable as anything wrong if happened, was under my very nose. Every new job throws some challenges, which need to be solved to earn the respect. This was also one such task among other improvement programs. I was growing restless.
I called a departmental meeting and announced that we should explore job rotation among team so that all team members get to learn other supply chain aspects e.g. procurement, logistics, warehousing, spend control (capex, opex) and facility management. Procurement team members will be exposed to warehouse, logistics and vice versa to groom them for future roles. Now I purposefully pointed out to the said executive, that you have spent 18 months in procurement & negotiations. How about a stint in warehouse and logistics? The reaction was not good. I ended the meeting with a remark that we need to be open to opportunities.
The Manager were asked to work on the modalities for job rotation. One day, the procurement manager walked into my room and handed a cheque and said that the employee was offered a cheque by a specific vendor. The employee claimed that this was a proof of his honesty.
I called the employee in my room and asked him more details. He told that the supplier gave him the cheque and he did not cash it. On further inquiring , how this cheque was handed over to him. He informed it was through mail. I requested for the envelope and the courier gate entry. There were many gaps in the story, the cheque was 3 months old and was not handed over to HR , when it was received. There was no coherence in the story.
I requested the manager to call the vendor who had given the cheque to the employee. The vendor arrived next day, we sat across and inquired about his business. He informed that his biz share has reduced substantially during last 6 months.
Why?
He said ” May be the organization is not happy?”
“Have you ever offered any money to any of our employees. Tell me the truth else I will blacklist and your share will reduce to zero”
The vendor again said” No, he has not offered any money”. I was getting angry and asked the manager to show the cheque. Now the vendor started his story, but this time it was only the truth. Vendor also shared to an audio clip in which the said employee asked him 10% cut in every deal. The fate was sealed. I asked the manager to bring the employee into the room and requested him to admit his mistake. The employee did not and still expressed innocence and claimed vendor wanted to corrupt him. I requested him to hear the audio and now the game was up. The audio clip was a surprise for the employee.
I handed over the audio clip to the HR and CEO. Same very evening , they initiated an inquiry and terminated the employee.
It is very important that we as employee maintain our integrity and reject any temptation. Vendors are here to do business and help our organization to succeed. Some person either side may try to win through corrupt means i.e. vendor offering or employee asking for favors. This is a trap, don’t fall for it.
Ethics need to be followed all the time and in every situation. Sometimes, we convince ourselves that this is only this time. It does not work like this. As Clayton Christensen – Professor, Harvard Business School says ” 100% of the time is easier than 98% of the time.”
