The Leader's Review

I have been asked to help leaders fire someone a few times in my career. I personally believe that my first goal is to save an employee. So, on more than one occasion, I have informed leaders that they were out of bounds in trying to fire the person

However, I once gave a leader a set of questions to assess whether or not she should fire her employee. This was on a Friday. By Wednesday she had talked with the owner of the company, discussed each question, and FIRED the employee.

When I saw her a few days later she seemed relieved. For months and months this employee had been a strain to manage. No one thing seemed serious enough to fire the employee over. But when the management team looked at the overall cost of the employee during the last six months they found that they were losing so much time in managing her that it really made no sense to keep her.

I have to admit that for a few minutes I felt guilty that I had contributed to some one losing a job. Losing a job is serious. However, when I looked at the bigger picture it was the best thing that could happen for both the employer and the employee. The employee was not happy there. And the employer was losing money because of that unhappiness.

If you are struggling with an employee, here is a sample of questions to help you think about saving (or firing) that employee:

• Do you want to save the employee?
• Does the employee want to work?
• What would happen if you had to live without the employee?
• What are the costs--tangible and intangile--of having this employee stay? (Make this one really clear for yourself and your manager.)
• Does the employee understand the expectations?
• Does the employee have the necessary equipment for the job?
• Has the employee received all the training needed?

As you begin to think about these, you may conclude that your employee is missing some essential support needed to succeed. When you provide that support you can often turn an employee around. Answering these questions saves employees more frequently than causing them to be fired. However, some times the best course of action is to help the employee find a company where they can meet expectations. If you go down this path, always consult with your legal counsel. I do.