Is There a Right Way to Fire Someone?
Sooner or later, every entrepreneur has to let employees go. But the tough task can also serve as a learning experience. Our Board of Directors weighs in.
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It can be one of the most gut-wrenching decisions a boss has to make, but also one of the most necessary. It's awkward and uncomfortable and emotionally taxing on both parties. Unless you're Ari Gold, firing an employee is never fun.The business breakup can be especially tough for entrepreneurs, who closely manage small teams that they very likely helped assemble themselves. Personal relationships are on the line -- and occasionally, for better or worse, friendships. We warn against that, of course, but when a group works 15 hours a day building a venture together, bonds are bound to form.
Dissolving those bonds can be tricky. Corporate America is not known for its deft touch when it comes to letting employees go -- sudden mass layoffs, group firings, even dismissal by e-mail. George Clooney's fictional character in Up in the Air, a jaded "corporate downsizer" who literally crisscrosses the country to fire people he has never met, wasn't all that much of a stretch from reality.
But entrepreneurs are a slightly different breed. Sure, they're focused on profit and loss just like their pinstripe-suited counterparts, but many pursue the entrepreneurial path to create something bigger than just a balance sheet. They take pride in creating jobs and nurturing their staffs. Many of them decided to start companies after they were fired themselves. So when a hire goes wrong, even someone who proves to be woefully incompetent, an anonymous pink slip just won't cut it. The reality, however, is that economic downturns set in, employees screw up or maybe you made the wrong hire in the first place. For better or worse, cleaning house is often necessary, for the greater good of the company and the rest of your employees.
During their entrepreneurial careers, the members of our Board of Directors have employed thousands of people. But with that, inevitably, has come the task of letting some of them go. We asked them how to arrive at the decision, how to execute once its made and how entrepreneurs can learn from the experience and move their companies forward.
Warren Brown
Founder, CakeLove and Love Café
"Never pleasant, for either side. But I think the best way to let someone go is with honesty. Even though no reason is really required by law, it's only fair to have a reason why when letting someone go. When it's happened, I've made it very clear: It's either circumstances beyond our control (like the economy) or they've forced my hand with their extremely poor performance or judgment, or both."
Rob Adams
Director, Texas Venture Labs at the University of Texas
"Yes -- quickly and professionally. Even the best hiring managers have a success rate of 50 to 60 percent, so if you've made a hiring mistake, recognize it and take action. Entrepreneurs are usually very positive and optimistic by nature. But there are plenty of bumps in the road when you're running a business."
Jodie and Danielle Snyder
Co-Founders, DANNIJO
"Never easy. We always play up the person's strengths and let them know that it's apparent that the position isn't a good fit for them and that there is something out there that they will be more passionate about. It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it -- and as an entrepreneur, its important that you're able to."
Tom Szaky
Founder, TerraCycle
"I don't know if there is a right way, but the way I do it is sit the person down and immediately tell them the news. Don't skirt around the issue. Then I typically ask them if they'd like more details as to why. In most of the cases, the people don't. The whole process is typically a few minutes. You know if you've done your job in managing properly if the person is not surprised by the news. If they are surprised, then you probably haven't been giving them the feedback they needed."
Phil Town
Investor and Author of Rule #1 and Payback Time
"Option A: This is the sneakiest way to do it. Move them into a 'better' job, give them a great title and then have the job just not work out. Then you can say, 'I'm so sorry, I totally don't want to let you go and there is no way I would do it if it could at all be avoided but THEY are cutting this whole department and unbelievable as it is, and as hard as I fought it, THEY are letting you go. I know. I can't believe it either.' "Option B: The RIGHT way to do it. Tell them as soon as possible, tell them the real reason why and give them a nice severance. However, if you actually do it this way, remember that no good turn goes unpunished and be prepared for a lawsuit. After you do it this way once, you'll probably go back to Option A."
Bob Parsons
Founder and CEO, The Go Daddy Group
"Absolutely. The employer needs to be direct, to the point and respectful. There should be no discussion attempting to justify or defend the decision, as it has already been made. Depending on how long the employee being fired has been with the company, there should be a generous severance package."
Jennifer Hill
Chairwoman, Astia NYC Advisory Board
"Yes, the process can be as important as the act itself. First, confer with your company's legal counsel to ensure that you are abiding by state and federal laws, as well as the company's HR department. Determine whether there is a plan for termination (i.e. a reduction-in-force or whether this is an isolated incident based on performance). Involve a third party if you can, such as the person's manager or an HR manager. This reduces the 'he said, she said' nature of it and tends to keep it more professional. Prepare what you are going to say and stick to a few key points. Avoid overdramatizing or editorializing it. Keep it very matter-of-fact, yet empathetic. Listen and avoid appearing dismissive. Ensure that the person terminating an employee is properly trained and can embody the best of the company while doing it. Although it's a difficult deed, there are ways to do so and still maintain a positive relationship between the company and employee. Last, have an action plan for next steps with the employee. Assemble a package of exit information (i.e. last paycheck, benefits information, severance - if any, state and federal unemployment resources, exit interview questions, and any company resources such as outplacement service recommendations). "The more you can help the employee to think constructively about the future, the more likely the employee is to handle the situation professionally and adopt a pragmatic view about the company."
Elizabeth Busch, Anne Frey-Mott, and Beckie Jankiewicz
Co-Founders, The Event Studio
"There a right way to fire someone. Absolutely. It's not about a scripted set of words or a standard protocol, but the way to fire someone is to be as honest, respectful and direct as possible. In business (as in life) there are often times when people aren't just the right fit. I think it's really important to remember that that doesn't make the person who needs to go an evil force of some sort. Especially as a business owner, it's really easy to take everything very personally, but very seldom are people actually trying to do you wrong. If you have to send someone out of your organization, be direct, be honest about what the problems are/were and remember not to make it personal. Keep it all on the table of what is best for your business. Oh, and don't forget that even from the worst situations you can take away meaningful and useful learning -- don't forget to mine the situation for what you need to know about your business moving forward."
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
I was fired fr. a job a few years ago by a slave driver I had worked for previously - seasonal consultant work. 2nd time around, I was fired for no reason and had to return 1,000 ways from home after 3 wks. at my own expense. I was dumb for going back to work for this incompetent small business man in the first place-to try to help him with his business. I got his last one up and running successfully. All his employees hated him. I learned the hard way. I guess I won't use the idiot as a reference.
I was fired once and found out through Unemployment that I was unjustifiably fired and I drew unemployment for a total of 9 monthes
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In the case of Donald Trump he is fireing people that arent even hired.I was in Business for 25 years but when letting an employee go I never used the words "Your Fired" even one time with the hundreds of men and women that I had to let go. Of course my business model was entirely different that The spoiled rich boy Trump I was a worker long ago and have a lot of respect for People who are basicly in the same position that I was in .Trump was born with many hundreds of millions of dollars so that is why he is an insensitive A**** H*** J. Copeland Boca Raton FL
never fire on a friday or the day before a holiday
firing is not easy but the person generally deserves it. Lay-offs are horrible because you have to dismiss someone who must lose their job through no fault of their own. Extremely painful for all. This is wht happens when jobs move offshore!
I know of two people who were recently fired by a large Bank initials
(C.O.) and they literally, planned to fire these people almost a year
in advance. First, they gave them unattainable goals to reach, then
they hired managers who treated them with total disregard,
disrespect and inconsideration to say the least. These so-called
managers also were condescending and down right nasty! They
fabricated so
many lies I began to lose count. Another thing you should remember is
that HR isn't there to protect you but to protect the corporation it
works for. You can only wonder who is really
minding the store when you've got a large bank treating people like
they do and this is a bank who said that they treat their employees
well. They eventually fired the two people I'm talking about and I
truly believe that they were fired because of their age and their
salaries. In all my years, I've never seen such injustice, such
deceit and
such selfishness in a corporation. They will throw you into the
gutter not giving a damn if you've got kids in college or a mortgage
to pay or if you end up on the streets tomorrow. These damned excutives have the nerve to sit in their white ivory towers while others suffer so badly from their cold greedy
hearts! One could only hope that some day they experience the pain
they've caused others out of their owned damned greed. This bank fired
seasoned, intelligent people who knew their jobs very well just to replace them with young,
greenhorns who don't know their ass from the elbow just so they can pay them less and
they can fatten there own paychecks which are already more than they
really deserve. The reason the law allows corporations to fire you without provide a reason is because too many times the reason isn't justified. Beware when it comes to working for C.O. Bank! There motto should be: "we don't give a shit about what's in your wallet, just ours."
I know of two people who were recently fired by a large Bank initials
(C.O.) and they literally, planned to fire these people almost a year
in advance. First, they gave them unattainable goals to reach, then
they hired managers who treated them with total disregard,
disrespect and inconsideration to say the least. These so-called
managers also were condescending and down right nasty! They
fabricated so
many lies I began to lose count. Another thing you should remember is
that HR isn't there to protect you but to protect the corporation it
works for. You can only wonder who is really
minding the store when you've got a large bank treating people like
they do and this is a bank who said that they treat their employees
well. They eventually fired the two people I'm talking about and I
truly believe that they were fired because of their age and their
salaries. In all my years, I've never seen such injustice, such
deceit and
such selfishness in a corporation. They will throw you into the
gutter not giving a damn if you've got kids in college or a mortgage
to pay or if you end up on the streets tomorrow. These damned
excutives have the nerve to sit in their white ivory towers while
others suffer so badly from their cold greedy
hearts! One could only hope that some day they experience the pain
they've caused others out of their owned damned greed. This bank
fired
seasoned, intelligent people who knew their jobs very well just to
replace them with young,
greenhorns who don't know their ass from the elbow just so they can
pay them less and
they can fatten there own paychecks which are already more than they
really deserve. The reason the law allows corporations to fire you
without providing a valid reason is because too many times the reason or reasons aren't
justified at all! Beware when it comes to working for C.O. Bank! There
motto should be: "we don't give a shit about what's in your wallet,
just ours."
The company I worked for fired people every Monday for years. You never knew when it was going to be your turn to be fired. People were let go with no explanation except, "We dont need you anymore." I saw the company go down the tubes as they thought the pressure would make everyone preform better. Hell, we are were ready wearing too many hats and working so many hours that getting let go was a relief. The company no longer makes electrical power tools in the USA and you can guess who they are just lock at their tools. You will notice the made in China and Made in Mexico on ALL of them. Is there a right way to fire someone??? YES, they will already know they have not been doing their job so being called to the office will be a formality ! ! !
You know who you should fire 2012! BHO
I had to fire one person one time, and before I fired this young man I was a little nervouse about it and did not know how he would react and so I decided to just get it over with as quickly as I could and then get out of the office and be about my business. I went into the office where this young man was at and looked at him with a totaly straight face and told him point blankly "You were $20 short in you drawer, this is not your first time being $20 short and you're fired. This young man looked at me smiled and said OK and left. was not as hard as I thought it would be and I felt secure with myself and was happy and not sad the rest of that day.
I am trying to start my own Company starting from scratch. Where no one will be turned down from getting hired, and as long as they observe the rules of my Company than all will be happy. The pay they get will be from the customers and so forth. There will be a small fee for them to pay to the Company for each job that they get, and will be based off the amount of money that the Customers pay. The Customers pay the Company and the Company issues out checks to the employees. Right now it is just me in the business, and so far nothing. I can not get a start up loan cause I am a new business, and I do not have any out of the pocket spending money as yet. My Company is called "Chris-Tal clean"
I have had to fire some people who worked for me but I did it with kindness and a full explaination of why. I would never just yell at someone YOUR FIRED,,, only a moron would do that. Its like if you are better than them or God like head over them, I look at it like this. I have made mistakes and was fired, so what makes me different than the person I'm fireing? I just want them to learn from it and do better some place else. Before I would work for Trump, I would pick up pop cans a long the road. He is a moron.
Not a pleasant task, but one I have had to complete on occasion. It's your job and you do it for the health of the company, which is your employer as well. You must have regular employee evaluations in place in order to make a performance related dismissal. Without evaluations, which are a pain, you're not doing your job, so fire yourself.
Theft, sexual harrassment, attendance, lying, etc. are all easy as the ones headed out the door bear the burden of their own decsions that created the termination.
Simply tell the individual that they are "over-qualified." Changing the lock on the door sends another clear message.
Give them genuine compliments. That way they can't argue with you, as it will be good reasoning, and they won't be so upset and angry that you just took their income away. It might even help them to do better!
In most cases, businesses don't fire employees. Employees generally, with some exceptions of course, fire themselves. The reasons can be myriad but that doesn't make the fired person a bad person. Be direct, and be respectful and if you are not required to give a reason, then save yourselves the legal action and say "we just don't need your services any longer" or something like this. If you are firing for cause, make sure you have your ducks in a row.
A really good company has a severance package that includes outplacement services in place and funded.
Linda
Old simple rule. praise in public and fire in private. Let them go just with yiou and employee in
a office --just the 2 of you Do it at close of day but observe what they take out of their desk.
Today some employees get really vindictive and tear up or ruin paperwork,etc. One girl in grand
rapids years ago, tore up and destroyed all the customer files. Was before fancy computers and
ways today to protect files. Took 3-4 people over a week to put paper scraps with customer
info together. In the 60's Almot impossible to fire people today what with unions protecting dopers
dope sellers, loafers and drunks.