To Charles Moore,

To,

Charles Moore

Dear Mr. Moore,

I received your memo this morning (you can rephrase this – This is in reply to the memo you sent this
morning…).

The basis of my decision to promote him was his outstanding performance in the company over the past
5 years (can be a bit more elaborate – you might want to consider your awareness about the
moonlighting…).

(The transition must be more formal – On the lines of, ‘The moonlighting issue came to my notice on
time the project was at the peak of its delivery, and I was placed in such a position where I had to decide
between the devil and deep blue sea…) The minute I found out about his moonlighting I had a talk with
him about it. He specifically mentioned that this project was based solely out of interest (meaning?).

My obvious concern was whether this interest based project would impact his job performance.
However, he has been moonlighting for weeks now (not something you want to write) and has still
managed to put extra hours for the Terra Vista Project and has performed outstandingly (this means you
have justified moonlighting).

The reason I withheld information about his moonlighting is the precedence it sets for employees
working below him (avoid using, ‘working below’) who will not be able to handle the pressure of
working 2 jobs at the same time (how do we know this?). Secondly, the company doesn’t have explicit
policies on moonlighting so no particular rules have been broken (not a statement you want to state to
the leader!). The only point of concern was the use of company property for the other project. I have
made it very clear to Jeremy that this would not be tolerated any further. Still this doesn’t set the
ground for firing (the question is not about firing at all – it’s about promotion. You might be opening up
pandora’s box.).

My rationale behind not firing him (not required) was based on a comprehensive analysis of our
industry, our company, as well as the role played by Jeremy in our company. Considering the fact that
the whole of Silicon Valley is facing recession, many fortunes have been lost, and software companies
have especially taken the brunt of it. Even we as a company have barely managed to survive. We are
facing financial constraints and have had to freeze our hiring as well. It would have been disastrous to
let go a resource as experienced, polished and proficient as Jeremy (good statement). He brings a lot to
our table in terms of skill and expertise. He has been a crucial part of our most recent project as the
program lead; had his ideas not been there, the whole team would have been stuck. He was (has been)
punctual (why punctual?) and exemplary with all of his deliverables. His expertise with the tools we use
is also unparalleled. There’s a certain creativity brought in by Jeremy which is imperative to our team.
He also ensures a healthy atmosphere within our team (good statement).
After my evaluation, I came to the conclusion that firing Jeremy and training someone else as a
substitute would have affected our company negatively.

Promotion would definitely involve a higher responsibility from Jeremy. Based on his prior
performances, creative solutions and amiable personality I believe he was the perfect candidate for the
job.

To address the caveats of moonlighting, namely impact on performance and data leaks, I am going to
perform regular performance criteria checks and made it absolutely clear to Jeremy that company
property should not be used for the projects.

The structure is missing here; you can follow what has been presented below as an example.

What I have mentioned down is just an example of how you can structure your writing…
When you present an analysis, you must state the position statement:
Jemery Hicks had been promoted basis his merit and performance in the organisation. There was
definitely an instance of moonlighting that was duly addressed and relevant action was taken to manage
the same…
You must then present your points of your support to the decision:
While I agree that moonlighting can have adverse effect on the culture of our organisation, I would like to
bring to the light the work that he has done and the laurels he has achieved in the project that has won us
an extension of the contract.
As soon as I became aware of him moonlighting, I immediately addressed the issue and conducted a root
cause analysis. To which I realised….
Once cannot ignore the contribution the lead programmer of our team has done to the effect of us winning
our clients. Here are some that I’d like to highlight:
This is where you mention the criteria (These are vague examples…)

1. Performance –
a. His performance has always been up to the mark.
b. There was never a drop in his performance even when he was apparently
moonlighting.
2. Team player –
a. His team admires him for his dedication and his intelligence
b. He is one such leader and manager that can get the work done on time within
strict deadlines.
c. There haven’t been any complaints whatsoever…

And on and on you can elicit information from the case and elaborate
Contingency: While I am completely aware that such behaviour will never be tolerated in the future, I
have set the expectations straight with him. His agreement towards the expectations and his unwavering
dedication to Zagante has made me consider him for the much-awaited promotion.
Conclusion: I am sure you would definitely agree that not promoting Jeremy would mean a loss to the
whole team, the project, and the company as a whole. He continued to perform exceptionally well, before,
during, and even after the promotion. The data definitely support the decision I have taken. Besides, to
think about taking a stringent action, we do not even have a written policy around moonlighting. Hence,
any such adverse action, if I had taken, would have resulted in an unfavourable situation at Zagante and at
that point in time, looking at the current market situation, I was not in the position to consider any such
course that would impact Zagante.
Action plan:
To ensure such acts do not repeat, the following is what the HR leader and I have been working on:

1. A policy to highlight and address Moonlighting issues occurring at work premises

2. As employees are not aware of certain benefits that the company is providing, a session
on benefits have been arranged so that awareness is spread across centres.