Our distant ancestors dealt with "problem people" in their towns by burning down their houses, rather than killing them. That's the genesis of the phrase "to fire", as it relates to removing a person from a place.
And despite the success of Donald Trump’s (and now Martha Stewart's) Apprentice shows where every week someone hears “you're fired”, firing an employee is a tense and unpleasant process.
In the last few weeks, I've visited with several CEO's who rated getting rid of “dead wood” as just as important as hiring new people. Culling out those who don't perform should be a continuous process, just as is continuously recruiting better talent.
Given the need for “spring cleaning”, it make sense to hit on a couple of key points as it relates to firing employees. ~~~ HR Professionals WARNING, what follows might make you nervous…. On the other hand, it might be the catalyst to clarify your organizations norms. ~~
First, write down and communicate to your team any actions for which there is no recovering--no second chances, no exceptions, "you will be fired if you ..." Examples that might fall in this category are sexual harassment, dishonesty, insubordination.
In this day of fluid ethics, many employees must be reminded that there are in fact some moral absolutes. Make sure these non-negotables are clearly understood and when an employee crosses the line, fire them.
Do not let them resign – fire them.
Make sure every employee on your team knows what happened and why they were fired. This it will reinforce the non-negotiables you have set and you will have to fire fewer people.
Second, a consistently applied and predicable process for reviewing every employee’s job performance is a must. Document everything. Clearly identify the performance goals and the consequences for falling short.
For many organizations, performance is measured against internally established benchmarks and those consistently below the mark must be fired or the benchmark must be changed if it is to remain meaningful. For other organizations, performance is measured against peers (could be internal or external peers).
GE and IBM have historically been known to fire the bottom 20% of all Division Managers and the bottom 10% of all sales people. This annual culling used to be as predictable as the seasons. Frankly, someone that cannot perform up to norms or peers needs to work somewhere else.
I speak to approximately two bankers a month that have been fired and for most, it was the best thing that ever happened to them. Some changed their ways. Others got out of the business all together. Some of GE's bottom 20% moved on and became another organization’s top 20%.
Lastly, if you must fire someone and you are lucky enough to have an HR guru within your organization, get his or her advice before you do anything. You've probably done this before and don't think you need any guidance. However, only a fool would not seek the counsel of an expert.
If a termination is executed properly, it will not come as a surprise to the employee or to the employee’s peers. Surprise or not, there is no “good day” to fire someone. Some say do it on Monday, others say it is best on Friday. Since there is no good day for the soon to be ex-employee, do it on a day that is good for you. Fire them on a day or at a time that will cause as little disruption to other employees, customers, or vendors as possible.
I strongly recommend you have someone join you. Not only will you tend to be more respectful to the soon departed with a witness around, but it is safer. According to the Columbus Business Journal, in the USA, workers murder their bosses at a rate of three a month. Ponder that statistic for a while and you will focus much harder on hiring the right people to begin with.
