Which is the “right” thing to do in the following situation....

[UniversalMan]

So I have a question for everyone who chooses to post their personal opinion. If an investor hires an acquisitions manager to receive inbound calls and close deals (pay: 10% of close deals) when that employee leaves the company and they have let’s say, 20 escrows not yet closed but in the pipeline, to do the right thing should I still pay that former employee their % commissions for those 20 deals that close in the months after the acquisitions manager leaves the company? Whatever your answer might be, would you also share a little bit about your thinking process as to how and why you came up with that opinion? Thank you, in advance, for any and all replies.

[Alex Capp]

Why did the leave and what terms did they leave on?

Overall I try to still pay out. 20 escrows is a good chunk of money.

You could pay them straight for the ones that are about to close and don't need much more work. But for the ones that come up with title issues and things and don't close for a few months and still need more work to actually close it, you can consider paying them a portion or none at all for those.

Also, of course, ask yourself what you have in writing with this acquisition manager in terms of payment.

Definitely a tough call.

Do you plan to bring in another to replace them right away that would work on these? Would you need to pay them too on these 20 closings?