Deciding to let an employee go can be a tough decision. You become attached to them to a certain degree.
You get used to seeing that same face everyday. You may know all about their family. Perhaps you have even met their kids at some point.
But their performance (and or attitude) is not up to par.
You have tried everything, but they have not stepped up to the plate. You know the right thing to do is let them go. However it’s a hard decision because you know how it will negatively impact them, in the short-term anyway.
It becomes doubly hard to do so because the act of firing someone is also admitting you made a mistake. After all you hired them in the first place. It’s like admitting you blew your 1st round draft pick on the wrong person.
But lets face it, it happens from time to time.
Hiring the right person all of the time is not possible, though that does not stop us from trying. With all of this in mind, I offer some food for thought. After all, I have some experience in this subject matter.
I have 7 reasons listed below on why it’s best to part with a marginal employee. I believe sharing them with you may help you when your faced with such a tough decision. Without further ado, here I go.
- Rid yourself of that dull toothache. Ever wait too long to go to the dentist for that toothache? Then when you finally went you felt that incredible sense of relief, the pain was gone! Experience that same relief all over again.
- Avoid the Bad Apple Syndrome. Low quality employees can corrupt and spoil all those around them.
- Your customers deserve better. Your clients trust your company to do a good job. Keep it that way.
- Business should be fun. Seek out people you enjoy working with.
- When you care about their welfare more than they do, move on. Life is too short to spend your waking moments trying to get them to turn their life around.
- The type of company you run is a reflection of you. Do you take pride in the people who represent you on a daily basis? You should!
- Procrastination will add to your pain. “Don’t wait for tomorrow for what can be done today” is a powerful mantra to live by.
It is very easy to constantly “hope” your marginal employee turns things around. If your a optimist (like me) you can find it hard sometimes to admit defeat. While it’s always a good idea to exhaust all options before letting someone go, the moment you “know” it must be done, just do it.
It’s not fair to the employee, it’s not fair to you and it’s certainly not fair to your customers to keep people around any longer than is warranted.