For anyone with a level of sensitivity or empathy, firing an employee is never fun. In reality, however, sometimes it has to be done. It has to be done when it is best for the company, best for the employee, or best for both.
It’s pretty clear when employees need to be let go. Their performance is consistently sub-par, they don’t complete assignments on time, they have toxic attitudes…in other words, they don’t fit into the company’s culture.
There are eight mistakes commonly made when it’s time to let someone go. (Some mistakes are made even before the employee is hired.)
- Mistake #1: Hire friends or acquaintances whom you like without proper vetting; or hire based on a person’s reputation in a related field, not your own.
- Mistake #2: Be vague about the job requirements or “let the job evolve.”
- Mistake #3: No job description or have poorly written one.
- Mistake #4: Avoid holding the person accountable during the “honeymoon” (the probationary period).
- Mistake #5: Don’t hold the person accountable when they fail on small assignments.
- Mistake #6: Hold onto people after repeated failures or insubordinate behaviors.
- Mistake #7: Go overboard when trying to rehabilitate a problem employee by covering up their mistakes by trying too many new ways to help them get them to change or be successful.
- Mistake #8: Keep a person on when they are failing. Make your decision based on what’s best for the company long term vs. avoiding the difficulty of dealing with the substandard performance.
Rule of thumb: Hire slow, fire fast…and make sure your employees fit into your corporate culture.