All of us who have worked for quite a while, always have to give the Pink Slip many a times, reasons too vary. It is never an easy task to do this but it has to be done. Over the years I have had to do it personally a lot of times & believe me it is never easy.

However, over time I have realised that doing so with “Grace” is the best way & have also personally drawn up what I refer to as Appropriate etiquette for communicating bad news/handing out pink slips.

Bad news in face to face meetings only with Human Touch - I never ever believe in giving bad news by telephone, email or via. As the Boss Man to your direct reportees, it is their right to hear it from you straight & without embellishments AND never use 3rd person…’Management has decided; Boss has decided etc’. It just demeans the whole communication and relationship.

Privacy This is another important criteria whilst imparting bad news. Yes even in these days & age of open offices also. If need be take him/her out for coffee or wait till the office is empty.

Spend time Nothing is cut & dried that you announce, get up & walk away. Spend some time, share good thoughts.

Extend Support Unless it is a ‘Termination’ for serious offense, always extend support in terms of reference, help to connect with people etc. It really does not cost anything much.

Keep in touch This is one thing I believe in strongly. There is no need to be apologetic about the whole thing & avoid facing or meeting them or even avoiding their calls. They are your good will ambassadors and there is every chance that a time may come when they would be able to assist.

What are your thoughts on this? Do share and add to these.

Over the past couple of months, on twitter, I have made good friends, faced hostility, received invitations to play, party etc. which I have least interest in.

One of the most important things, being urged to follow someone, interact on some political, sports, technology feeder that I have no or little interest in.

Having said that, there are still those persistent people who believe that they need to be connected to me on Twitter, Facebook, Linkein besides email!

To put things in the right perspective -

Linkedin - My professional profile that says everything I want the world to know.

Facebook - My personal, family, friend connect where I know everyone & may have lost touch but now reconnected.

Twitter - Great exchange of thoughts, helpline, just being you.

Blog - Sharing of thoughts, gyan, communicating at length.

All of this means etiquette is different everywhere & it is a learning process all over again, one of the main reason for confusion amongst the Grey haired! Internet has thrived on the principle of free information with little censorship, certain ‘Netiquette’ rules that I think relevant:

Profile - If you are following me/want to follow me on Twitter, why do you ask me Questions? And this too from the young <30’s who are technologically savvy.

Invitation - If you do not know me, have not interacted with me, do not send useless invites for Farming, Mafia etc. It is an e-handshake & needs to create a good impression so invest time on it. A standard invite always gets ignored & someone who just wants to grow their network to impress others.

Network - Establish who you want and why you want them, so it becomes easier to network. A lot of us accept invites from people who are real friends or people they have worked/communicated with in the past.

Quality vs Quantity - One of the most irritating aspects of internet networking. Professional networking should never be a race to see how many you can notch up, but connecting with few, concentrating on converting these into relationships.

Unknown People - You need to make sure that you have a good reason to accept requests from complete strangers, as you are always known by the company you keep.

Communication - Do we ask a favor immediately on being introduced to strangers at a seminar/event. No then why should internet be any different.

Keeping business & personal lives separate - Already covered in detail above & sooner people realise, better it is.