Business Tip: How to Fire an Employee

Once you’ve recognized it’s time to fire an employee, a series of bodily functions starts to mysteriously occur.  Your heart starts to palpitate.  You start to sweat even though it’s a cool 72 degrees in your office. Your peripheral vision dims and you start to shallow breaths that threaten to hyperventilate you and send you to the ground with an ungracious thud.

Well, at least it was like that for me when I first was given the responsibility of firing employees that ranged from ’18 to old enough to be my grand-dad’ American Airlines.  The problem is though that I was never trained properly on how to fire an employee in an effective way that protects the best interest of the company. I learned that much later when I opened up shop.

Your first instinct when you fire someone is to make them feel better about it.  To explain it away.  Sort of like a break up when you don’t want to hurt the other person’s feelings and you say, “It’s not you, it’s me.” And in both cases you know you’re spewing total bullshit.

Lesson 1 of 10,282 From Superstar Attorney – Rick McVay

One of my very first lessons on firing came from Rick McVay, superstar attorney.  So my firing sessions went from a 1 to 1.5 hour sob fest to literally 20 seconds.  Here’s a rundown of the last person I terminated who we’ll call Manda.  Keep in mind that this person was hired as a front desk receptionist.  She was a doll and very sweet.  Cute to look at but that’s only if you like a cute face and lots of cleavage with vacant eyes.  After over a month of coaching her and covering the items in the checklist of when you should fire an employee, I resigned myself to the fact that she was costing us in lost revenue, labor costs on cleaning up client issues and staff moral.

So here I go.  You can time this:

Me as I walked into the office (don’t prolong the inevitable by putting it off unless your intention is to let them go at the end of their shift): “Manda, I need to see you please.”

Once we were in a private room: “Manda, I am terminating your position.  Your last paycheck will be deposited on the next payday. I need your keys please.”

Manda: “Well can I ask why?”

Me: “I’m sorry I can’t say.”

Manda: “Well I think that’s just really mean.”

Me: “I’m sorry you feel that way. It’s not meant to hurt your feelings.”

Manda: “I know you’re just doing what your job.”

The end.  I walked her to the front desk where she handed me her keys.

This took practice the first couple of times I had to do this.  Like I was rehearsing for a play.  You have to remember not to let them veer you off track.

So why was I advised to take this approach?  Well, to cover my ass of course.  You don’t want to give them any fuel in case a fight ensues over this termination, especially if you feel like you’ve taken all the necessary steps to help them before you made the final decision to fire your employee.  If you say something like, “I really like you and you have great potential. I see that you work hard every day and blah-blah-blah…” this could be used against you if they decided to pursue a claim with your state’s workforce commission.  And I was always surprised that the worst employees were the ones that would try to take that route first.

The Truth

If you think that this is too harsh or you’re afraid of what the employee you’re firing or the other staff members might think of you, remember to look over your shoulder because your ego is crowding you.  Who cares what you might be perceived as so long as you aren’t being cruel about it and have a little sensitivity? You are taking care of the well being of your company and the staff members who are working their asses off for you by CYA.

As always, the information on this site is not meant to be construed as me giving you legal advice. It is just an account of my life as an entrepreneur and the tough lessons I have endured.  Please always consult with your attorney for legal matters.

No comments yet.