When to Fire an Employee

In a previous article we discussed how to terminate an employee but not when.  In this article we will talk about when to fire an employee.  I once read an article from a respected industry consultant who said the time to fire an employee was the first time you think about it. In my experience I always waited too long. The best solution is somewhere in between.

You have likely invested time and money to hire and train the employee. While it is often personally hard to terminate someone making sure you are doing what is the best for the company and not reacting to an irritation will usually make it easier.

I always thought that the best and easiest way is to have the employee make decision for you.

There are a number of offenses that require immediate termination for the good of the company such as theft, violation of company policy, or disruptive behavior.   If you are certain an employee is stealing but do not have enough proof to call the police you can still terminate the at will employee. It may be best to not get into details of your suspicions. It can only lead to argument or perhaps legal problems. It is easier to terminate an employee for violation of company policy if it is a written policy because the policy is not up to interpretation.  

If the employee steals, violates policy or is disruptive then the employee has decided to fire themselves not you. If you have an employee who is not getting the job done deciding to end the employment relationship can be harder.  There are a number of things to consider.

Does the employee have the training or experience to do the job that is assigned? If you hired the person because they represented that they had the necessary skills did they misrepresent their skills, did you misrepresent the job or could you have designed the job with procedures that make the job easier to perform so you could have hired a less skilled (and cheaper) employee.  

Does the employee have the necessary tools, support and other resources necessary to complete the job or is the workload too heavy for even a skilled employee?  An accurate job description and frequent employee reviews where you discuss company goals and set goals and expectations for the employee are both critical.  With an accurate job description there is no question of what the job is and goals will define the performance you expect. Communicating the failures must be fair and constructive. The best guidance given at high volume and in anger will likely be ineffective.

If you have communicated your expectations regularly and those expectations are not met then it will come as no surprise when you tell the employee that they are being let go. By their performance they will fire themselves.

The worst possible situation is that you realize you have not given the employee the tools to succeed but because the employee is frustrated or angry you decide that the employee relationship cannot be saved.  You still need to do what is best for the company and terminate the employee. Learn from the experience and make sure the next employee has what they need to succeed.

Original material copyright © Thomas Robinson 2010