As we begin each New Year, many of us take the opportunity to re-group and redefine goals for our businesses. This time is often filled with renewed energy to get our lives and work in order. As a part of your New Year’s goals, it might also be time to fire that one employee that is not contributing to your company’s vision.
The impact of an unengaged employee on your business can be catastrophic. Decreased productivity, lowered company morale, and miserable working environments have been common complaints by my clients as they come to the decision to relieve an employee, especially when an estimated 50% of employees will change jobs in 2020! I say start the New Year fresh!
A past client of mine had an employee who consistently gave her ultimatums. The threats were often “If you don’t do this, then I will quit.” Who wants to work with an individual who is constantly threatening you? The team was struggling to work with the individual, my client was unhappy with the performance of the individual, yet the concept of firing and replacing this person seemed daunting and ill-timed. When my client finally became fed up, they did indeed fire the employee. I won’t sugar coat the transition. It was hard, uncomfortable and came at a terrible time, but my client knew that this was the right decision for the company.
In addition, the busiest day of the year for applicants looking for a job is the second Tuesday in January. Think about this: the people who are fed up with their work environments are also looking to make a change. So, if you want to start the New Year with someone who REALLY wants to work for you, get going! Now is the time.
Right before the holidays, I had a potential client call me frustrated with an employee. “I just gave out bonuses, and she wants more money…I don’t know what to do!”
Having seemingly entitled employees is a hot topic of conversation these days. Here are my thoughts:
An entitled employee is in the wrong job.
Think about it.
When an employee is in a job that they love, they are happy. They think about the work that they “get to do”, not what they “have to do”. They may ask for a raise or for more vacation time, but rarely are these on the forefront of their minds. They are excited to work every day because they are passionate about their objectives. They feel confident and are thriving.
But when they are not happy in their jobs? They will do anything to keep themselves engaged. They think that money will make them happy. They think that more time off will make them happy. Or free movie tickets, a gift certificate for a massage or getting to work from home. But in the end, if they are not enjoying their jobs anymore, have a conversation with these employees about doing
something else or let them go.
Nothing can make up for doing work that they do not enjoy, and I do mean nothing!
So, when you have an entitled employee, don’t talk about more money, benefits, working from home, etc. It won’t help and only increases frustration for both you and your employee. Instead, talk about the job duties, and ask if this is really the work they love. If it’s not? Either move them to a position that is right for them or help them transition out gracefully.
And remember: you as the employer are entitled to an employee who wants to do the job you are offering.
I received a call from a potential client who had recently fired an under-performing employee. This employee was wreaking havoc on the work culture, missing deadlines, throwing others under the bus in meetings and not taking responsibility for their actions. Firing this employee was exactly the right move to make.
“So, why don’t I feel better?” he asked.
First, if you ever feel good after you have fired someone, you have lost your humanity and must take a long vacation, effective immediately. In other words, I would worry deeply if you DIDN’T feel bad after firing someone. After all, these are people not cogs.
Second, the relationship is over, along with your hopes and dreams for an outstanding performance from the individual. You would not have hired someone that you did not believe could do the job and do it well. When it does not work out as expected, it can feel awful and be perceived as a failure.
Third, you may now be concerned that you have poor judgement and are not skilled at hiring. You begin to think about the time and energy it takes to search for candidates and to wonder if you will ever find the right fit.
There is a way to feel better and restore your confidence.
Ask yourself:
Did you observe something during the interview process that you knew could have been an issue, but you ignored it?
Did you give this person an appropriate level of training to be successful in their position?
Did you give them coaching and council to improve performance with time for course correction?
Did you let them know, in no uncertain terms, that without improvement they would be fired?
Only through a thorough review process of a poorly performing employee post-employment, from search to departure, can you identify places to improve hiring and retention.
Then after you debrief, I want you to breathe and cut yourself some slack. Everyone has a bad hire occasionally. You did the best you could in that moment. You will do better next time. I believe in you!
I had a call from a client who I worked with years ago. We had successfully hired an employee for a very key position in his company. He has called me regularly to share how great of an employee she had become over years. She has been great with his clients, great with her budget, great with the other folks on the team…He could not have been happier.
Then, one day recently, he called to tell me that his “amazing employee” was suddenly dropping the ball. “Beth, I don’t understand it!” he exclaimed. “She is making mistakes on things where in the past she has performed flawlessly! I am actually thinking about firing her because it is so bad.”
Okay. I always advise my clients to first take a big, deep breath when becoming frustrated. Then, I advise them to take another big, deep breath and look at performance issues from various perspectives before firing once high performing employees.
I continued the conversation by asking, “Have you asked her what is going on?”
“Well, no. I haven’t,” he replied.
I encouraged my client to talk to his beloved employee with empathy and compassion to uncover what may be behind her sudden shift in behavior. I suggested he state something like this, “You know, I have noticed that you haven’t been yourself lately. Are you okay?”
As it turns out, she did have some personal trauma happening in her life, discovering someone close to her had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She confessed to feeling like a total wreck. She also expressed that having a conversation with her boss, my client, was really helpful. And while she continued to have a tough go of it for the next several months, but she was able to get help when she needed and turn her performance around.
So, when you see job performance decline in a great employee, before you discipline in any way, check in with their emotional well-being. As a great leader, you will really be glad that you did.
I received a call last week from a woman that I have never met. She was an employer who wanted to ask me some questions about firing an employee who is “making my life a living hell”. I asked her to explain why she believed the person was an underperforming employee. She replied, “She is doing nothing towards her job and everything to make everyone else’s job harder.”
“Can you give me an example?” I asked.
“I sure can,” she said. “She called a long-term vendor of mine and cancelled an order that we had placed. This order was instrumental in getting a project done for our top client. Luckily, I have a fantastic relationship with this vendor, who called me personally to make sure that the order should be cancelled. This is not the first time, nor is it the first incident. In addition, she shows up late, none of her work is done on time, and her attitude is turning away new clients.”
“How long has this been going on?” I asked.
“5 years,” she replied. I gasped. Why on earth did this woman put up with an unacceptable employee for as long as she did?
There are a few reasons an employer will keep a poor employee in place:
1) The employee was not performing unsatisfactorily for the whole 5 years, just part of it. The employer creates a false sense of “it will get better over time.”
2) You have a conversation with an underperforming employee and it gets better for a short time. Then a new erosion of performance begins. The employer begins to believe this is just a cycle of behavior to justify.
3) The employer thinks that they cannot have the position be empty while they hire someone else. And since many do not like the hiring process, they delay the search.
4) They feel bad for firing someone.
Here is what I told her, “I greatly appreciate that you want to provide a good working environment for your employees, and I understand that you feel bad. I have never in the 16 years that I have been doing this had a client tell me that they regretted firing an employee. NOT ONE. I have had clients regret hiring someone and regret not firing them sooner, but I have never in my career had a client regret firing an employee.”
If it has crossed your mind that you need to fire an employee, begin to truly examine the situation. If you determine the employee is no longer a fit, follow a consistent firing policy, including documentation and explaining severity of your dissatisfaction to the employee. And, don’t wait. You are just putting off the inevitable. As they say in business, hire slow, fire fast.
It has become an annual tradition to remind my community to let go of those on your team who are not performing. Happy New Year 2018!
As we begin each new year, many of us take the opportunity to re-group and redefine goals for our businesses. This time is often filled with renewed energy to get our lives and work in order. As a part of your new year’s goals, it might also be time to fire that one employee that is not contributing to your company’s vision.
The impact of an unengaged employee on your business can be catastrophic. Decreased productivity, lowered company morale, and miserable working environments have been common complaints by my clients as they come to the decision to relieve an employee. I say start the new year fresh!
For example, a past client had an employee who consistently gave the employer ultimatums. The threats were often “If you don’t do this, then I will quit.” Who wants to work with an individual who is constantly threatening you? The team was struggling to work with the individual, the employer was unhappy with the performance of the individual, yet the concept of firing and replacing this person seemed daunting and ill-timed. When my client finally became fed up, they did indeed fire the employee. I won’t sugar coat the transition. It was hard, uncomfortable and came at a terrible time, but my client knew that this was the right decision for the company.
In addition, the busiest day of the year for applicants looking for a job is the second Tuesday in January. Think about this: the people who are fed up with their work environments are also looking to make a change. So if you want to start the New Year with someone who REALLY wants to work for you, now is the time to make a change.
It has become an annual tradition to remind my community to let go of those on your team who are not performing. Happy New Year 2018!