Best Practices For Firing Someone

It’s a conversation almost no one enjoys having: a member of your staff has fallen short of

expectations, and you’ve decided to let that person go.

With notable exceptions—including a certain U.S. presidential candidate and former reality TV star—many employers favour a gentle, tactful approach to firing. After all, people rarely enjoy being bearers of bad news, especially the kind that can dramatically alter an individual’s life. Nonetheless, clarity and assertiveness are crucial when it comes to firing. No wonder some companies prefer to rely on independent HR consultancies for “termination assistance”!

Be fair and transparent, and maintain a documentary record.

For both legal and ethical reasons, you should establish consistent ground rules for every person you hire, including your organization’s termination policy. If you are having difficulty with an employee, raise the issues you’ve identified in one of h/er regular performance reviews, or arrange a meeting to discuss the matter. Keep a detailed documentary record at every stage of the process. If you see no improvement in the employee’s performance over time, then dismissal may become necessary.

Double-check with the HR department (if you have one).

HR can help provide information about extenuating circumstances the employee faces, or any other relevant details that could influence both your decision and the timing. An HR professional can also provide general support, and be present in the room during The Talk. (If nothing else, it sometimes helps to have company and moral support on such a weighty occasion.)

Once you’ve made a final decision, don’t delay.

It may be that you’re indecisive about firing someone, and you’d like to give that employee an opportunity to redeem h/erself. But once you’ve reached a final decision to dismiss a member of your workforce, and you know deep down that you won’t change your mind, avoid the temptation to dither. The longer a person who isn’t up to the job stays with your organization, the more harm s/he may do, and the more extra work s/he will probably generate for your other staff.

Identify a confidential venue for the conversation (like a conference room or private office), and then get on with it.

Get right to the point.

When everyone (you, the employee, and the HR professional) is seated and paying attention, announce your decision up front, followed by your reasons. You can soften the blow slightly by formulating the statement like so: “I’m afraid I have some bad news: we’ve decided to let you go, because...”

At this point, it’s possible that the employee may attempt to bargain, or become combative. You can express regret about the situation, but avoid the temptation to become defensive, hesitate, or engage in a verbal joust. You’ve made this decision because you believe it’s in the best interests of your business, and it’s final.

Address any technical questions the ex-employee has.

There may be concerns around severance, unused vacation days, or other matters you hadn’t considered yet.

Be kind. If you believe the ex-employee’s potential lies elsewhere, offer to help.

For long-term employees in particular, being fired is a traumatic experience: it can damage their self-confidence, entail the severing of personal and professional relationships, and result in loss of income and abandonment of plans. It is appropriate to show compassion for people facing such circumstances, especially when you are the proximate agent thereof.

Sometimes a staff member who shows talent and potential in certain areas just isn’t the right fit for the position s/he occupies at your business. If you simply can’t find a place for that employee in your organization, you can still offer to ask around or provide a reference.

Parting on amicable terms isn’t always a realistic possibility, but it certainly makes for more pleasant professional relationships down the road.

Slow Hire, Quick Fire

Anyone in charge of his or her own business who is not familiar with the term ‘slow hire, quick fire’ needs to let it sink in right away. On the surface it seems rather self-explanatory and just good common sense, but internalizing the mechanisms behind why this practice is so fundamentally important can often be overlooked. Below are a few key points to focus on when you may be forced to pull the trigger on any major personnel decision as well as a brief examination behind the rationale for each practice.

The Slow Hire

Every hiring decision is an investment. The idea needs to be that the return from their productivity exceeds the outlay to keep them on board – there is no point hiring someone who doesn’t make your company more valuable than it already is. Like a poker player sitting at the table, there is the old adage that you cannot lose what you don’t put in the middle. Hiring someone should feel like putting chips in the middle knowing that you can take down the hand. If you’re bluffing and praying for your card to land on the river you’ll find yourself short-stacked in no time.

Here are some points to consider before hiring:

1) Don’t let yourself feel pressured by time – A savvy manager will see the need coming down the road long before there is any urgency to actually hire someone. If you’re hiring someone just because you need someone right away there’s a strong possibility you’re not hiring the right fit for the position, but someone who is comfortable being the company silver medal.

2) If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t – It can sometimes feel like the only option available is hiring the least bad candidate. There is nothing wrong with holding out for something better. The right person is out there, and sometimes it’s just a matter of possessing enough resolve to wait it out until they come along.

3) Can someone become the right candidate? – Sometimes you might find yourself with candidates that don’t immediately possess the needed expertise or experience required to fill a position, but may possess certain intangibles, such as the right drive and motivation that can make them an asset to your company. Always keep in mind that it’s easier to train someone how to complete a particular task than it is to train him or her to care about what they’re doing.

The Quick Fire

If someone is dead weight, they’ve got to go. It’s fine to be patient with someone who is still developing the requisite competencies to do their job, but if someone doesn’t have the right attitude, or fails to demonstrate the proper level of motivation that you demand from your employees, don’t wait around hoping they will change. There are plenty of eager people who don’t need to constantly have carrots dangled in front of them who would probably do a great job if given the chance.

Here are some points to consider before firing:

1) Is it even a job that still needs doing? – It’s not uncommon for employees, brought on to complete a particular task, to hang around long after they’ve become redundant. It’s never easy, but explaining that their services are no longer required can sometimes make long-term sense and might be in the best interest of your company.

2) Are they spinning their wheels? – The guy who comes to work every day, does nothing, and collects his pay just the same as the guy who works his butt off, is an all too common occurrence in many work environments. It’s one thing to streamline one’s workflow to optimize productivity allowing for more free time, it’s another to create free time at the expense of productivity. And as great as it is to come to work feeling relaxed, it’s a wholly other thing to show up at work in order to relax.

3) Are they a vampire? – Sometimes what can hurt a company has little to do with the specific competencies of its respective employees and can come down to a single employee’s bad attitude. Nothing can be more damaging to team morale than one person putting his or herself ahead of everyone else. There is no place for someone who sucks the life out of your company.