What’s the Quickest You’ve Seen a Co-Worker Get Fired?
I stumbled upon this topic on another subreddit and thought it would be interesting to explore here!
The First Story That Comes to Mind:
At my company, we hired a senior developer who was genuinely nice and eager to dive into work. He jumped into several projects and often asked me questions about applications and processes.
One day, he called me because he thought he had made a mistake and wanted me to check it out. He shared his screen to explain a customer enhancement he was working on and, shockingly, he had been testing directly in the customer’s production environment. Unbeknownst to him, he inadvertently turned off a critical feature before logging off for the evening.
Naturally, the customer noticed and reported the problem the next day. Upon investigating, it was evident that he had caused it the previous night.
The most jaw-dropping moment was when they asked him why he hadn’t used a database backup to work on the issue locally. His response? “We can do that?”
2 responses to “What’s the fastest instance you’ve observed a coworker being dismissed?”
The story you’ve shared is a classic example of the pitfalls that can occur when new employees, particularly in technical roles, are not properly onboarded or do not adhere to established protocols. Below, I’ve expanded on this scenario and provided some thoughts on both why it was a quick firing and how similar situations might be avoided.
Quickest Firing: A Cautionary Tale
Scenario Recap:
Reasons for Quick Termination
Experimenting on a production environment is a cardinal mistake in software development. It’s a well-known best practice to use development or staging environments to mitigate risk.
Inadequate Knowledge:
The developer’s admission (“We can do that?”) indicated a fundamental lack of knowledge about standard procedures, revealing a gap between his claimed experience and actual understanding.
Impact on Business:
Immediate negative impact on customer satisfaction and potential financial or reputational damage to the company, pressing the need for quick resolution and accountability.
Trust and Reliability:
Prevention and Mitigation Strategies
Ensure all new hires, regardless of seniority, undergo thorough onboarding that covers company policies, best practices, and specific procedures related to their roles.
Mentorship and Supervision:
Assign mentors to new team members to provide guidance and act as a resource for questions, encouraging a safe space to discuss uncertainties without rash actions.
Environment Protocols:
Implement strict access controls and monitoring to prevent unauthorized interactions with production environments. This can serve as a safeguard against human error.
Continuous Education:
Offer periodic training sessions to keep all employees updated on best practices and new tools or processes within the company.
**Cultural Emphasis on
This post brings to light a crucial aspect of workplace protocols, especially in technical roles. It’s striking how such a significant oversight could lead to immediate termination, highlighting the importance of thorough onboarding and training.
In similar situations, companies often focus on the technical skills of a new hire while overlooking the importance of process education. This incident underscores the need for a structured training program that not only covers technical competencies but also emphasizes best practices for development and testing environments, such as the use of staging or backup databases.
Additionally, it might be beneficial to consider the role of mentorship in these situations. Pairing new hires with experienced employees could provide not only technical guidance but also insight into company culture and practices that may not be immediately obvious.
In a rapidly evolving tech landscape, ensuring that every team member fully understands the tools and protocols at their disposal can mitigate risks and foster a more collaborative and knowledgeable work environment. What do others think about establishing a more robust onboarding process to prevent such costly mistakes?