Need to fire a colleague next week
This person (A) was with the company for a year. We are a small startup so we do not have a lot of employees. We recently hired a SVP and when SVP was reviewing A, told me A is not a good fit for our company. A was doing the bare minimum of their work and A did not want to do more work when we asked A to do more. A will consistently say “I’m not comfortable to do this”. Because it was a small start up I was pretty close with A. It was just hard knowing the fact that I have to let A go next week. I understand we have to do the right thing for the company’s sake, but it just stresses me out because I know A’s personal situation. Since I was A’s manager I have to be the one letting A know next week that A will no longer be working with us.. Never had to fire anyone before and this is very nerve wrecking.. Can anyone share their experience?
Who the fu** names their son or daughter “A”?
I just didn’t want to emphasize the gender..
I work under the svp. svp would like to hire a new hire to train and collaborate more with me.. we have to look for a new hire - posting the job soon.
@blgb55, sorry you had such a horrible experience.
There’s no easy way to do it - I’ve been in your position a handful of times. If you haven’t asked your SVP about giving A a PIP so that A isn’t blindsided, I would. If that’s a no-go, then you will be walking into one of the more challenging days of your professional life. I’ve found that the third party approach works decently (ymmv) - “the company feels that you’re not performing up to the level it needs you to...” I’ve had situations where I jumped onto A’s side just to make it hurt less, but it makes the split messier. I’ll throw in a “I wish it were up to me” so that A doesn’t feel like there’s anything more that can be done to salvage the situation. I don’t envy your task - let us know how it goes
Thanks for sharing your experience. Definitely will share the experience afterwards.
Has the employee been warned that his or her’ s performance was not to the company’s expectations? In the past, we usually have some tough meetings spelling out the situation and what is expected. If the person is self-aware, they will know if they are not living up to their side of the bargain, so the shock of a termination is lessened. Ultimately, it’s a business decision and you should stress it’s not personal, but show empathy.
Thanks for your comment. A was not warned and A will be shocked once he or she finds out. A was hinted here and there but A doesn’t know it was part of their performance review.
You’re not a good manager. People should not be surprised when they are fired if you do your job properly.
Thanks for sharing!
I will offer a different perspective. If a person is a candidate you give more gentle hinting but also increase it over time in case they are obtuse. The same applies to employees except they are yours and firing people sucks and is bad for everyone. Did you ever say explicitly “doing X is part of your job” and give him enough time to fix the problem? If not, you probably haven’t done enough coaching to fire him. Honestly, firing someone for “not taking a hint” is dubious and HR might take issue with that if you had such a department. Remember that even though *technically* you could fire him for any reason in an “at will” state, it is customary not to do so. Your job is also to protect the company from spurious law suits so make sure you do your due diligence there. It would be quite ironic if your goal was to protect the company, and you got sued for doing so.
Worked in a small startup where an identical situation happened to my colleague. He worked 9 to 5 sharp even when we had very busy days and close to getting new big customers (it's not like he's been super productive those strict hours, playing online games often). Also not willing to take any extra tasks or help anyone to unload them a bit. My manager eventually fired him. We all were very close friends, but it just didn't work out, because on early stages company survives because of people who are putting their effort. And if you feel bad for A, think of where your startup will be if he stays and whether or not you want that to happen.
If you were his manager you should have coached him. Ask SVP for 1 month. If you do it call it lay off fire has negative connotation and it will impact his career. You should leave in amicable terms and give him ok reference without mentioning lay off.
Why don’t you give a hint on what’s gonna happen if you did not go above and beyond at a start up.
I gave hints here and there, just to see if A is willing to do more work and allocate some of my work, but the answer I always got from A is “I’m not comfortable doing this” or “I never sign up for this”. It was part of A’s job but I had to constantly do it for A.
Sounds like he deserves to be fired or doesn't mind being fired.