5 Signs that It Is Time to Fire an Employee

Hiring is challenging but firing can be even harder. Your employee’s job could be the only income for the employee’s family. Make sure to have a good reason for letting your employee go.

This article outlines signs to fire an employee and how to properly conduct the termination. If you find yourself in a position where you need to let an employee go, I can help find you high-quality and productive candidates after the termination occurs.

Reasons to Fire an Employee

Bad Behavior is Not Corrected

Every employee has occasional bad behavior. This could be checking Facebook or excessive bathroom or smoking breaks. As a business owner, small infractions can be overlooked. But what happens when small infractions become big problems or a consistent behavior?

Examples of Bad Behavior at Work

Sleeping on the Job
Consistently Late
Gossiping
Lied to the Boss
Socialize Excessively
Left Early without Permission

You should not be paying employees to gossip, socialize, or sleep. If they are a negative influence to other team members and have decreased productivity, it may be time to fire your employee before this behavior has an impact on other employees.

They Have a Bad Attitude

Everyone has bad days. In this situation, a bad attitude can be excused. However, if your employee’s negative attitude is frequent and impacting the team, it may be time to let the employee go.

Speak to the employee about their bad attitude first. Maybe they have too much responsibility, problems at home, or a co-worker is spreading rumors. Try to solve the issue before firing your employee.

They Violate Policies

Policy violations should not be tolerated. To ensure that your employees understand the policies, have them sign an official Policies document upon being hired.

Depending on the severity, policy violations are often a “three strikes and you are out” clause. Have the employee read and sign the policy document if they violate the conditions. This ensures that your company has thorough paperwork if you need to terminate your employee.

You Receive Customer or Client Complaints

Happy customers and clients keep your company afloat, even if your employee’s interactions are only with internal customers in other departments. If your employee is causing complaints then you evaluate their position.

The first step is to address the complaints. The solution could be as simple as further training in customer service or conflict resolution. However, if your employee does not enjoy their job or has a bad attitude, you may want to reassign them or let them go. A reputation in bad customer service can be extremely harmful to your reputation or cause problems when working with other departments.

Job Quality or Quantity is Lacking

If your employee is making a lot of mistakes or is consistently missing deadlines, it could be putting a strain on your other employees. If that is the case it may be time to let the offending employee go to allow you to upgrade to a more productive employee. This may sound a little heartless, but if others in the department are left to pick up the slack or continually correct their errors, you may end up losing your better performers out of frustration and only making matters worse.

If it is time to let your employee go, it is important to proceed legally and courteously. Job loss is usually life changing. CNN Business explains five steps to professionally fire your employee:

Don’t Surprise Them – Hold performance reviews so your employees know where they can improve.
Do It Face-To-Face -The phone, email, and twitter are not appropriate platforms to fire an employee.
Be Clear and Concise – Know exactly what you are going to say before you fire your employee and have the proper documentation.
Be Prepared for Emotions, but Keep Yours in Check – Show empathy and avoid using harsh words.
Give Them a Soft Landing – Have a prepared severance package, or offer consulting work, to allow them time to find a new job.