Two incidents this week tested our new policies at Uptech. Here’s what happened…

One of our office guys(who is my relative as well) didn’t show up after Eid holidays on Thursday. We tried calling and messaging him many times but got no response. When we finally reached him and asked why he hadn’t come to office, as he has his client’t project as well, his excuse? “I had guests at home.”

Seriously? What company allows you to skip work without even asking for leave just because you have house guests? I let it go that day, thinking maybe he’ll improve.

Today, he didn’t show up again. Still not answering messages.

This time, I told my CTO to fire him immediately – no notice period. This was clearly a discipline issue. We already gave him a chance yesterday and he did the same thing again. No notice period means no last month salary either.

Another problem we’re facing: some team members on notice period have basically stopped working properly. Their productivity has dropped badly and they’re not meeting the KPIs we set for them.

I’ve made a new rule: if their KPIs are below 30%, they get zero final salary. If KPIs are above 70%, they get full salary. For anything in between, we’ll pay according to whatever percentage they achieved.

The old me would have felt bad making these rules. The new me understands business has to come first. We can’t keep a company running where people don’t show up or don’t work properly.

Some might think these policies are too strict. I think they’re necessary. The good workers who are doing their job properly deserve a company that will last. Sometimes you have to make hard calls to protect everyone else.

The surgery is painful but our company is getting stronger with each tough decision.