How To Fire
One of the toughest things leaders have to do is fire people. This is a tough thing to do and a tough thing to get right. Take responsibility for it not working out well and then approach it with an empathetic manner. Don’t take it out on the team member. Learn to fire well.
There is a right and wrong way to do things. If you burn bridges every time you fire someone, you probably lack empathy. If you can’t pull the trigger and forever warn people, you lack the gumption to actually let them go.
Relying on classic lines like “It’s not you, it’s me” “We both knew this day was coming” won’t work in a lot of cases. People aren’t stupid. They are human and we need to treat them with respect.
When firing keep in mind, we aren’t the only ones giving these people references. They will be the ones using social media to talk about us and we don’t want them hurting our reputation.
Don’t drag things out, but don’t go nuclear either.
Time doesn’t heal all wounds. If you have warned someone about their incompetence, firing won’t suddenly make them competent. If you have communicated clearly and they aren’t living up to expectation, it’s time to cut the loses.
Six Techniques to Become an Effective Firer
Fire gently. You don’t have to blame. You don’t have to retaliate when they blame you and lose their temper. If you bash him, no one will want to work for you. If he bases you, then he won’t get the referral he is looking for from you.
Get right to the point. Don’t drag it out. Lots of times when firing people, they will be shocked. The shock turns to protest. But don’t let this drag things out. Don’t waste time justifying your action or prove they deserve to be fired. There’s no point and you waste time and energy.
Be firm yet gentle. Again, be gentle. Don’t be so firm you turn into a rock. Being firm means getting to the point and not wavering. Remind yourself that this is not a debate but a decision that has been made. It didn’t work out.
Acknowledge their feelings. Listen and let them know you know what this feels like. You know they are frustrated and upset. Just make sure they know you hear them and acknowledge them.
Have a good exit strategy. A bad strategy is having one of your people fire someone you personally hired. This is a guaranteed way to have a pissed off employee. If someone has worked with you a while, you need to have an in-person talk and try to exit interview them.
Talk about their strengths. This builds on the last point. Include suggestions on how they can leverage their strengths in their next job to succeed. Example: “You are really good at X so you would be really good at "Y”