Dear Norm,
I have a problem with some former employees who've started a business that directly competes with mine. Not that I mind healthy competition. In fact, I welcome it. But I do object strongly to the way these people conducted themselves as they were leaving.
It began with a manager who, I later discovered, was starting a business and working on it while he was still my employee. He then began to recruit away other employees in key positions in sales, IT, and accounting. It turned out they were doing projects for the new business at the same time I was paying them-that is, using my company's resources to give their business a jump-start.
Of course, when I found out, I fired them. But the new people I've hired are having a challenging time putting out fires set by the ones I got rid of. Before they left, the latter sabotaged my business by delaying deliveries and otherwise not taking care of clients. Their motive, I believe, was to get my clients so frustrated they could be easily stolen away. How should I deal with this situation?
-Richard Gan, President, Computer Network Systems, Pasig City, The Philippines