Have you ever thought about how you would handle the departure of a high level person in your team?
Viacom recently provided a great example of what I consider the right way to deal with a high-level departure. Greg Clayman, the Executive Vice President of Digital Distribution and Business Development recently decided to leave MTV Networks to take up an interesting role at Rupert Murdoch’s soon-to-launch iPad-friendly publication.
The memo sent out by Judy McGrath, CEO of MTVN, is pure class and a great lesson for many executives and future executives.
Key Takeaways:
- Announce the departure, don’t let staff read it in the paper or hear it through the grapevine
- Thank departing person
- Wish the person well (make it clear to staff that the person left on good terms if that is so)
- Acknowledge contributions
- Indicate who will take what areas
This helps with continuity within the organization and improves staff morale (people like knowing that if they make a contribution, they won’t be treated badly when they choose to leave).
Read the full memo below.
From: Office of Judy McGrath
To: Office of Judy McGrath
Sent: Fri Aug 20 11:49:47 2010
Subject: Greg ClaymanWe want to share the news that Greg Clayman, our Executive Vice President of Digital Distribution and Business Development, has decided to leave MTV Networks for a new venture that will stretch the range of his considerable talent, energy, and imagination. One of our best and most beloved digital gurus, Greg’s a guy we’ll miss having around, but we wish him lots of luck and happiness in the future. We thank and salute him for building a great team and accomplishing so much in his time with us.
Throughout his tenure at MTVN, Greg worked hard to get our content launched on every new and relevant platform, and make our programming among the most widely distributed in the world. He was respected by all his colleagues for his innovative approach and collaborative spirit. But maybe his greatest legacy is the phenomenal people he put in place to forge partnerships and create opportunities across the digital landscape. Moving forward, Jeremiah Zinn, a strong leader and digital guru in his own right, will continue his oversight of Product Development, including our growing and important apps business, while also assuming leadership of our mobile business, with Jim Eadie continuing to run point on mobile and app distribution deals. Jeremiah will continue to report to Rich. Tom Gorke will continue to be our lead for online distribution deals, but he’ll do so as a member of Denise Denson’s team…strengthening the digital deal-making capability CDM delivers through agreements with partners like Netflix.
Throughout MTV Networks, we’ve been fortunate to have a deep bench in Digital, and it’s great to tap into that talent in an even bigger way. This realignment will allow us to keep moving forward without missing a beat, in a time when new opportunities come to us almost every day. It’s the right team at the right time, and we know they’ll work to capture those new opportunities, and ensure that our business evolves and grows well into the future.
But, here in the present, please join us in cheering for Greg and wishing him the best of luck as he transitions out of MTV Networks. He’s been a great champion of our digital story, an even greater champion of our brands, and, quite simply, a good friend.
Best,
Judy and Rich
