9/1/2013–Nothing requires sufficient prep more so than firing someone.
Having the data to support your decision goes w/out saying. Analyzing, organizing, and having it at the ready when the firing actually takes place is vital; not only because it protects against wrongful termination claims.
Two more important reasons exist. One is that your preparation–when thorough–demands your complete comprehension of the causes and effects of the employee’s behaviors both in the past and in the future. Specifically, you’ll know how your team will look without this member and plan accordingly. This prep will result in your confidence and clarity when delivering the news. Related to that is the second reason preparation is required–it’s simply the right thing to do. JD warned me that managers in the past have sat down claiming they’ll fire someone then didn’t. That either means there was no good reason or they failed to understand the reasons well enough to be certain it was the right thing to do. Either way, thorough prep would’ve solved it. It would be incredibly damaging to a direct to sit them down and say “you’re fired” then retract that statement. I did a similar thing by saying “you’re fired”, then upon realizing I had not done any late-stage coaching just made a job reassignment. That person is now posting great #s and is happier in his job here and his second job.
But prep is fair for the direct because they deserve to know why they won’t have income tomorrow. Unless they made an egregious error in judgment or hurt someone, you owe them the certainty that prep creates. It makes the discussion move quicker and smoother, too when you’re not grasping at straws for a reason to fire them. Sit down with the data printed out, having orally rehearsed with another manager the specific words you’ll say. When the direct glares at you, cries, talks about their family issues, etc. You’ll know–and they’ll know–you’ve made reasonable efforts to fix their behavior. It still sucks–and it’s part of being effective.
QOTW: “I wish you had done this in the office one-on-one instead in front of everybody.” Terminated server to JD
?FNW: How does staff react? Not many comments; disliked MIT’s presence.
10/14/2017 review: This was a really tough and valuable lesson to learn the hard way. It’s the perfect situation to show why balancing business need with the “human” side via principle-based decision making is so important. It also underscores the importance of starting an effective management relationship from day 1. If there were one major point that I would want to make sure I respect forever, it’s “unless they made an egregious error in judgment, or hurt someone, you owe them the certainty and clarity that prep creates”. You, the manager, do owe them because terminating someone is an admission of either fault or incapability. Your team either overstaffed vs business need, failed to fix their performance, or made a bad hiring decision. If I inherited this person I’m firing, I failed to identify poor performance early enough to fix it. The lowest-fault scenario would be if I inherited them, identified poor performance early and executed a strategy to fix it, but I was incapable of fixing their performance (still true if “they were unwilling to change”). I’m now affecting this person’s livelihood so I’d better be thorough and clear about why firing them meets the needs of the business.
Finally, prep is not about preventing or defending against their emotional reaction. Anger and tears are healthy reactions in this situation, and should be allowed to come out within reason–not abusive and certainly not violent. Prep the location and timing of the discussion so that people aren’t around and the person is as comfortable as possible. Have tissues and water. Listen and take time to answer some of their questions. And ensure that you would come to the same decision, and that you’re able to answer the questions you’d have yourself, if it were you being terminated.