How To Fire An Employee

How To Fire An Employee
In this episode, we’ll outline how to fire an employee in a way that is specific, but humane. Research suggests that the boost in productivity from releasing a poor employee is larger than the boost gained from hiring a star player. And sometimes it’s not even about releasing a poor performer, there’s economic or industry specific reasons for having to lay off valued teammates-and it must be done gracefully.
0:00 Introduction
1:21 Do It In Person
2:31 Bring A Third Party
3:31 Lay It All Out
4:44 Offer Help, if applicable
6:03 Be Available Afterwards
7:15 Tell The Team
8:11 Forgive Yourself
9:01 Conclusion
These tactics won’t guarantee the conversation goes perfectly, but they will increase your odds of it going gracefully. And if followed, you’ll be amazed at how it can positively affect the team. Not only because you’re removing a poor player, but also because your team trusts that you will be respectful and professional in these difficult situations. And that level of trust will help everyone who is still on your team do their best work ever.
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//ABOUT DAVID
One of the world’s leading business thinkers, David Burkus’ forward-thinking ideas and bestselling books are helping leaders and teams do their best work ever.
He is the best-selling author of four books about business and leadership. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into dozens of languages. His insights on leadership and teamwork have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, USAToday, Fast Company, the Financial Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, CNN, the BBC, NPR, and CBS This Morning. Since 2017, Burkus has been ranked as one of the world’s top business thought leaders by Thinkers50. As a sought-after international speaker, his TED Talk has been viewed over 2 million times. He’s worked with leaders from organizations across all industries including Google, Stryker, Fidelity, Viacom, and even the US Naval Academy.
A former business school professor, Burkus holds a master’s degree in organizational psychology from the University of Oklahoma, and a doctorate in strategic leadership from Regent University.
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"Appreciate That" by David Cutter www.davidcuttermusic.com

[@darrellharmon6130]

Tough topic. Great treatment. This is really solid advice and guidance. Thanks for yet another contribution to our leadership education. The best advice is for the toughest issues.

[@DavidBurkus]

Thanks so much Darrell!

[@flournoymason8961]

I got fired and to show compliance I removed my ID, the keys around my neck and the company credit card before they asked. What happened next was this. There was an unpleasant silence.and I wanted to leave. I got up and while walking down the hall the HR lady asked me not to go. HUH? I was confused. It turned out she wanted a guy to escort me out of the building to my car. In my opinion the escort should have been there during the termination. The walk to my car was kind of long and very unpleasant.

[@DavidBurkus]

Ugh. Sorry to hear that.

[@azeezomosun6176]

Point 7 is the most important for me

[@DavidBurkus]

Thanks!

[@briansimmons6760]

Firing an employee is easy for unskilled work, but if the position is an licensed electrician the employer may take a year to find someone qualified. I would even go as far to say if the position is a senior electrical engineer. It would take 2 years to find someone of that caliber. masters degree in electrical engineer, 5 years experience, c plus , plus, Linux , cad certifications etc... Good luck firing him and replacing him. The employer is better off working with the problem and resolving the issue at hand with the employee. Like i said if you remove the employee the employer might get screwed because i bet there are only less than 1 percent of the job force that chose electrical engineers in all the usa. The rest of the skilled trade are lawyers,doctors,hvac,plumber,framer,electricians,truck drivers. ect...

[@DavidBurkus]

I think in almost ALL situations the employer is better off trying to work through the problem with employees. But sometimes...you reach a point where more trying just doesn't work.

[@roberthall6161]

Not on the phone.

[@DavidBurkus]

Or zoom.

[@waterbottle4782]

Or when the employee checks messages on answering machine...