Maintaining Perspective in Firing an Employee

Firing someone is never easy. Being fired from a position is also never easy. It’s important that as you go through the firing process, that you maintain perspective that the person in front of you is a living, breathing, intelligent, capable human being. They just may not be working out for you.

Evaluating employee performance.
As you go through this perspective check, there is a certain level of patience and allowing that you have to develop. Recognize that there is value in this human being, there is purpose, and there is inspiration. Even if they are being nasty to you, understand that they are being defensive and emotional because this job means something to them. Perhaps they may not have such a negative disposition when being fired. You may find them being grateful for finally being recognized that they are not doing well, and by your deciding they just need to go, you get to provide relief to them. They now get to go do something that they really love and are passionate about.

Many times we lose our perspective on firing employees because we confuse the fact that they are not working out well for us with the fact that we think that there is something wrong with them. As an employer who is looking to maintain a culture of respect and honor, I challenge you to create and uphold a different standard. Appreciate who they are. Be mindful not to confuse who they are with what they did or did not do for you.

For me, maintaining that level of respect, regard and honor has led to exit interviews in which people are crying, hugging me, and thanking me for the ability evaluating employees to have worked with me as I take their keys.

Recognize that when someone is fired effectively, everyone wins. The former employee gets to be in line with some other opportunity while the business owner gets to understand their organization and their values more while not acting in any kind of desperation at the cost of the company’s culture.

With an effective firing, many times the employee will ask for their job back. If they have already been a cultural deficit, make sure to kindly say, “no.”