Dismissing someone from their job is never a fun task. However, as the owner of a business, it’s something you have to get used to. If you go through your entire career without having to fire someone from your company, then you’re an incredibly lucky person and should probably try your chances at the lottery this week.
How to Fire an Employee the Easy and Right Way
Firing is part and parcel of the job, as is hiring. If people aren’t pulling their weight, then they have to go. Similarly, if someone is disruptive or causing productivity issues at work, then you have no choice but to fire them. You do, however, have a choice in how you fire them. There are wrong ways to fire someone, and there’s the right way to fire someone.
Firing someone the wrong way can lead to a lot of commotion and further problems for you and your business. So, it’s imperative you know the right things to do if you’re ever put in this situation. Here are some top tips that will help you fire someone the right way:
Get Help From HR
Even though you’re the boss, there are plenty of things you might not be 100% clued up on. Employment law & the legalities surrounding a dismissal could be one of those things. As such, it pays to consult with your HR department to set things straight. There are even companies like Ellis Whittam that offer consultancy for employment dismissals. Whether you outsource your HR or not, it doesn’t matter.
What matters is that you speak to them about any legal issues that crop up. They’ll inform you of the correct procedure, and what you can/can’t do. Firing someone the wrong way can cause you to infringe their rights or put your business in a tough legal position. So, iron out the legalities first, and then you’re ready for action.
Provide A Warning
Don’t make the mistake of firing someone completely out of the blue. This is the worst thing you can do, and a surefire way to anger them and get the rest of your employees on your back too. The correct thing to do is provide your employee with a warning before you fire them.
Call them into your office and tell them what the problem is. Explain to them exactly why you’re displeased and list the things they need to change. Tell them that if you don’t see changes within the next few weeks, then you’ll have to call them back into your office and let them go. This way, they have a chance to rectify things and improve. If they can’t, then you’re left with no choice.
Get Straight To The Point
If things don’t turn around after your warning, then you have to call the employee back into your office. By now, they should have an idea as to what is going to happen. At this point, your job is to be as quick as possible and get straight to the point.
Don’t mess around with chit chat and small talk or try to beat around the bush. Tell them you have no choice but to let them go and list the reasons why. It’s like ripping off a band-aid, you have to do it in one quick rip, and there’ll be less pain.
Fire In The Morning
There’s a lot of debate about the best time to fire someone during the day. Most people will say that firing at the beginning of the day is slightly better than at the end. The reason being that you can get it out of the way quickly, so it isn’t on your mind all day long.
The best thing to do is call that employee into your office and then get another member of staff to call a meeting in a different room. This means that the employee is free to walk to their desk and pack everything away without everyone looking at them. It also means that the work day won’t be disrupted by everyone saying their long winded goodbyes. It might sound harsh, but if this employee was liked, then they’ll have a chance to say goodbye in their spare time out of work.
Be Compassionate
Of course, you need to be a bit ruthless when you fire someone, or else you’ll never get the job done and end up with an underperforming or disruptive employee that costs your business. However, you should try and show a bit of compassion when you fire someone. Tell them that you’ll write a good reference to help them find their next job.
Fire someone the right way, and everything will be over extremely quickly with no harm done to your business. 🙂
