Concerned About Firing an Employee?

January 24, 2019 by OSYB Staff

Letting an employee go is never an easy thing to do.  No matter the size of your business, firing an employee will more than likely be something that you will have to consider doing or actually have to do.  Intuit QuickBooks shares some points that you should think about before you fire an employee:

• Is terminating the employee the best action?
• Have you followed the company’s termination policy?
• Are your actions in compliance with the law?
• Have you taken the right steps to protect your company’s reputation?

There does not seem to be a global answer to determine when an employee should be fired and business professionals have different points of view on what constitutes a justified firing.  But here are some broad categories that most professionals seem to agree on:

• Not meeting performance standards that have been communicated
• Continuing to make the same mistakes despite being given the appropriate redirect or training
• Violating a core company value, or damaging the company’s reputation

Firing an employee is a difficult decision to make.  Remember that firing an employee not only affects the person who is let go, but it can also affect the employees that remain, potential employees, clients, etc.  Here are some quotes on firing to consider:

“I think that you should only fire somebody as an act of last resort. If someone has broken a serious rule and damages the brand, part company. Otherwise, stop and think.” – Richard Branson, Virgin Group

“Create a culture in which it is okay to make mistakes and unacceptable not to learn from them.” — Ray Dalio, Bridgewater

“Lose money for my firm and I will be understanding. Lose a shred of reputation for the firm and I will be ruthless.” – Warren Buffet, Berkshire Hathaway

For detailed information:  When and How to Fire an Employee

Image Credit:  Deposit Photos