How not to fire someone

An apparent clumsy firing of a 77-year-old ski instructor at Gold Peak in Vail has his colleagues upset, according to an e-mailer who said he or she feared reprisal if identified.

Actions like these inevitably create ripples among the ranks. According to the ski instructor who wrote in, this instructor was popular, among the top point earners and has 40 years of ski instruction under his belt. Whatever management thought necessary, fellow instructors felt he was treated poorly, the e-mailer asserted.

Here’s a taste of the fallout, from the e-mailer’s point of view:

” … If Vail Resorts is a company that cares about its people, (which I no longer believe it is) they could have discreetly advised him that he would not be invited back next year and allowed him to finish out the season and keep his dignity intact.

“To be dismissed with two weeks to go in the season, take his ski pass and tell him he is no longer wanted is a terribly disrespectful way to treat a human being. But I guess that the big wigs have their stock options and Vail Resorts is no different from any other big company.

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“Unfortunately, what these managers fail to understand is that by firing a $13-hour instructor who was loved and respected by those in the locker room, they have planted another seed of discontent. Someone needs to advise Vail Resorts that you cannot successfully run a business over the long term by instilling “who’s next’ type of fear and other hidden agendas.”

Of course the writer’s anonymity has to be taken into account while weighing the words, although the reason for avoiding identification is straightforward. Managers of the ski company cannot speak with candor about a personnel matter, so illumination is not going to be found in that corner.

The anger among the ranks, as described by the author, is palpable, though. And unless the veteran ski instructor had committed an outright crime, there’s not much question this personnel matter could have been handled much better.

That’s classified

On the subject of clumsy management, another announcement about the White River National Forest plan: It’s done! The regional forester, head honcho for this corner of the Rockies, has signed off on it! It’s approved!

But you and we can’t see it. Yep, now the plan’s a big secret, essentially classified information for an undetermined time until the government can get the forest’s master plan for the next 15 years printed.

Officials decline to attach a date to when the printing will occur, having miscalculated so many times over the past couple of years about when the document would be done.

So, along with battle plans in Afghanistan, just list this among the tightly held state secrets.