By Craig A. Shutt
It's never easy to fire an employee, but when circumstances force your hand, the action must be taken quickly and cleanly. If it's handled well, it shouldn't be a surprise. "If the firing is a surprise to the employee, then shame on the manager," says Bill Lee, president of Lee Resources, a business-consulting firm in the building-products field.
Bill offers a variety of tips to ensure that, when a termination situation arises, the process remains as painless as possible:
- Don't make small talk. Get to the point.
- Don't act like a friend. Show compassion, but keep the meeting on a business footing.
- Don't argue or debate the termination.
- Don't put down the employee in any way. "It's not the individual, it's their performance that is the problem," Bill says.
- Don't allow for confusion; use notes or written communication, including performance reviews, to document what the problems have been and how you've tried to resolve them.
- Don't try to soften the blow by lengthening the discussion.
- Don't feel guilty. "It was the employee who did not live up to the performance standards of the job," Bill says. However, he notes that prior to this meeting, the manager should ask if everything possible was done to bring the employee's performance up to a satisfactory level.
Performance review
Terry Bennett, president of Terry Bennett Builders & Remodelers Inc. in Westlake, Ohio, makes sure that employees always know where they stand, both good and bad. He uses quarterly performance reviews that grade every employee on seven key areas (see the checklist). The total points vary per section, as well as by the individual position in the company.
The employee's total "grade" determines how much of a quarterly performance bonus they receive. The highest score earns a bonus of 10 percent of salary. Below a certain minimum, no bonus is received — and at the lowest end, the individual is placed on probation. "If they don't raise the grade, they will be terminated at the next review," Terry says. The format ensures each employee is well aware of their strengths and weaknesses and can see where they need to focus to improve — or to remain employed.
The good news is that while letting someone go for economic reasons can cause tension, firing an employee for bad performance often can boost morale. Other employees usually know where the dead wood is, and they resent having to make up the difference or do more than their share. Firing someone who isn't pulling their weight makes other employees know the company has high standards and recognizes who is doing good work.
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