As a manager, one of the most difficult things you must do is fire a bad employee. Once you’ve made the decision there are five things you need to do before sitting down with the employee.
To keep reading click here: 5 things a boss must do before firing someone
I’d comment over at CBS news but whatever browser I use fails to log in to their system correctly – Chrome won’t login and Firefox will login but won’t open the comments at all.
To the people claiming this is a horrible post to make in this economy and it will increase unemployment: No, it won’t.
This article suggests checking carefully before firing anyone so therefore there will be people who aren’t fired who would have otherwise. Secondly even if they are the employer will probably replace them – even if it is at a lower salary rate.
Yes, this is clearly a firing for cause/bad fit article, not a lay off article.
People are defensive when they shouldn’t be. Additionally, if you’re a job seeker, you want a business to fire a bad employee so they can have a space to hire you!
Oh god, this. I hear complaints all the time from great people who can’t find jobs, and they encounter people every day who are clearly bad at what they do, or rude, or not even trying.
A bad economy is not a good reason to keep a person on that isn’t a good fit for the company! It hurts the company, and denies the employee the opportunity to work somewhere they will excel. It also denies better employees that job!
Exactly. And if you get rid of a bad employee and replace it with a good employee, that will help your business grow and that just might mean that you need to hire an additional person!
I am on the opposite end of this. I excel in my position, but am a chronic migraine sufferer. I dread getting hit with a migraine and not being able to work/pull my own weight. Although I have everything medically documented, absenses, hospitalizations, medical treatments, etc., I still worry about being terminated from my position. I want to keep my job, but cannot control what is happening to me. I work with my Neurologist, Primary Care Doc, and now a Shrink because the toll it is taking on me. Can I still be fired? The company is growing and recently hired 10 new personnel in my section. My bosses boss has suggested working in a less demanding situation, but I love what I am doing and I do make a positive impact when I am there. I do not qualify for FMLA until 2 more weeks when I meet my 1 year mark, but I do have plenty of medical documentation.
I do wish that managers would spend this much time and do these things before laying people off too.
I was a single-point layoff. I’d been with the company for 5 years when my manager had resigned, my department reorganized, and I landed in a team where my role wasn’t meaningful to my new manager’s & VP’s “vision” or what he team did.
“See if there is a better fit elsewhere within the company.” My new manager suggested I find another place in the company, but he did nothing to help me find one.
“Get consensus sideways”
Manager and VP disregarded all of my clients in other teams.
“Consider how this is going to impact your whole team.”
I worked on projects across the company. People are still noticing the impact over a year later.
A least I got a severance package. Other than that, everything was because a manager and a VP didn’t understand what I did.
Susan,
Very good post. I would to add the following comment:
“See if there is a better fit elsewhere within the company”
You are correct, if it clearly a situation of skill sets then consider the position only if the employee is meeting all the requirements. If it a case of a poor performing employee, you have to “manage in place”.
Also, the most key to this. Always keep HR in the loop. Don’t be a lone ranger and pull the trigger before discussing the situation. Too many Managers/Supervisors think they can terminate at will.
Thanks.