Firing an employee can be a kind thing to do (really!)

One of the most difficult decisions you’ll need to make as a business owner is to fire an employee. You may have spent tons of money on recruiting, hiring, and training an employee. If you’ve done your job right, you’ve taken all the critical steps necessary to help him succeed. But he just isn’t working out despite the efforts your company has taken to help him improve his performance.

With a meaningful training plan, the employee (let’s call him Bob) will receive formal training on your company’s policies and procedures. Bob should learn who his leadership team and coworkers are, what everyone’s role is, and how his job fits into the company. He should also receive any necessary training on job skills he doesn’t already have. However, sometimes employees like Bob just don’t succeed. Despite the best efforts you and your team have given toward training him, he’s making repeated, critical mistakes.

Sometimes people just aren’t the right fit for the job. Chances are, Bob’s figured this out, too. If you’ve done your job right, Bob has received constructive feedback about his performance. He knows what he needs to do to succeed, but for some reason, he can’t get the job done.

Too often, businesses leave such an employee in that position for too long. There are many reasons to hope an employee like Bob will “get it” and succeed. First, most of us don’t like firing an employee, which means taking away their financial security, among many other things. Second, Bob could seek revenge by filing a lawsuit or seeking unemployment benefits. Third, it means having to spend lots of time, energy, and money to find Bob’s replacement. Fourth, there’s the possibility that it will harm morale among your “surviving” employees. Finally, there is the hope that somehow, some way, Bob will figure things out, and you won’t have to deal with all of these things.

However, let’s flip the scenario. What if firing Bob is actually doing him a favor? After all, Bob is coming to work every day, waiting for that pink slip. That can’t be a healthy situation for him. He’s likely extremely stressed out, unhappy, and unable to concentrate on doing his job right. He’s scared of screwing up, knowing that the next mistake could mean he’s fired.

In that case, when you’ve reached that point of no return with Bob, make sure your documentation is complete, and that you’ve consulted with your legal expert to ensure that you’ve taken the appropriate steps to this point. (Ideally, he or she’s been involved well before that point.) Bob should not be surprised that he’s being fired. In some ways, it may be a relief for him, since he’ll no longer be waiting for that conversation.

If you terminate Bob’s employment clearly, yet compassionately, that can go a long way toward ending his employment on a professional note. (In another post I'll explain how you do that.) If he leaves with his pride intact, he’s far less likely to seek “revenge.”

As for unemployment, the relatively small expense of indirectly paying Bob’s unemployment benefits is far cheaper than the cost of defending a lawsuit or EEOC complaint. Bob is now free to find a job elsewhere. Ideally, he’ll succeed in another job and move forward with his life.

Yes, you’ll still have to find Bob’s replacement, but if it means that new employee is a great hire, isn’t it worth it? As for your other employees, chances are they’ve been frustrated with Bob, too. Maybe they were working harder to do the work he couldn’t, or dealing with the messes he was leaving behind. Sometimes getting rid of an employee actually increases workplace morale.

Terminating an employee can be a kindness. Be kind to your business, too, and make sure you’ve taken the necessary steps before you pull that trigger. Everyone can benefit when a termination is done right, and for the right reasons.