Given a choice of using the carrot or the stick in their organizations, many people favor the carrot. But not today’s guest poster, Kyle Eastham (a.k.a., “the Black Belt Speaker”). He feels we need more stick—or perhaps “kick,” given his moniker?
Here’s what Eastham has to say about terminations.
Canned. Fired. Terminated. Bounced. Let go. Drummed out.
Whatever term you use, you need to use it more often.
By keeping employees who are routinely rude, violate policy, use company time and equipment for personal gain, or simply don’t do their jobs, you are doing a huge disservice to the public, the stockholders, and the other employees in your company.
The public deals with such employees and assumes that your entire company acts the same way—and that you, as a manager, condone the behavior. Good luck with your public relations.
Your other employees know the person is a loser. But they see him or her getting the same pay raises as everyone else. They start saying things like “I can’t believe they let him get away with that stuff” or “If I tried that, I’d get a 3-day suspension.”
But that talk soon turns to “You know, they better not say anything to me. They let ____ get by with a lot worse, and nothing ever happened to her.” When you finally do take disciplinary action, you have problems because you’ve established a precedent with how you deal with (or fail to deal with) certain types of behavior.
Frank was excited to get his promotion, but during his orientation, there were signs that made management question their decision to promote him. He routinely showed up late. His attire wasn’t appropriate. He argued with the training staff.
Before his probation ended, the decision was made to terminate him. Even though there was no blatant incident, the division chief wisely decided that if Frank’s behavior was marginal during probation, it would likely stay that way or deteriorate after he was removed from probationary status.
Many business leaders will tell you they never regretted the decision to fire someone—only the decision not to.
The complete guide to smart, legal terminations for California employers. Learn more.
“What’s he/she done now?”
I’m not talking about firing over an isolated incident where a good employee argues with a vendor or fails to turn in a report on time. You spend a lot of time and money recruiting and hiring good people. There are costs for recruiting, interviews, behavioral tests, background investigations, maybe polygraphs and drug tests. It’s tough to start that process over again.
I’m talking about the employee who continually screws up, a person who shows a pattern of poor decisions, poor judgment. It’s the guy (or gal) who, when his or her name is brought up, makes you roll your eyes, sigh heavily, and ask, “What’s he/she done now?”
Virtually every manager, every shift supervisor—for that matter, every employee—knows someone in the department who shouldn’t be there … a slacker, a hothead, or someone who can’t be trusted to act in the best interest of the company.
Nobody likes to be the bad guy. But as manager, there are times when you are obliged to be that bad guy, or you’re not doing your job. If you’re a first-line supervisor, you have to hold your people accountable.
As an upper or mid-level manager, you have to hold those line supervisors’ feet to the fire. If they’re not taking care of small issues before it becomes a termination issue, remind them of their responsibilities—and the fact that intervention now could save someone’s career by heading off a huge problem later.
I know it’s hard. You have to deal with employment contracts, the union, supervisors who won’t write an honest performance evaluation on their employees, internal politics. But that’s what supervisors do. At least, that’s what they’re supposed to do.
It may take a while, and it may be a battle—even a battle you could lose in court. But will you do the easy thing … or the right thing?
Terminations: A Complete Guide for California Employers
Whether it’s a termination (for violent behavior or other reasons), constructive discharge, layoff, or forced resignation, ending an employment relationship is a legal minefield that you should navigate only after careful consideration and adequate preparation.
Knowing when to terminate an employee is just as important as knowing how to terminate an employee. Even though most employment relationships are “at-will,” meaning you can terminate the employee at any time, what you say and do during the employment relationship can significantly impact how you must treat employees before letting them go.
Don’t make a move without checking out our brand-new reference manual, written specifically for California employers.
Terminations: A Complete Guide for California Employers covers everything you need to know about both voluntary and involuntary separations, including:
- Lawful vs. unlawful employee terminations;
- Employee discipline;
- The importance of documentation;
- How to create a paper trail that protects you in the event of litigation or threatened litigation;
- A step-by-step process for investigating alleged workplace misconduct;
- Termination considerations for all situations: poor performance, misconduct, personality issues, insubordination, tardiness, and absenteeism;
- Special pretermination considerations to keep in mind for employees on leave, unionized employees, and more;
- The state and federal rules on mass layoffs and RIFs;
- What to do when an employee resigns—and when a departure might be considered a constructive discharge;
- Important termination and resignation documentation you must keep on file;
- Payroll considerations for departing employees: final paycheck rules and more;
- Tips for effective termination meetings and exit interviews that both provide you with needed information and help keep you out of legal trouble;
- Legal do’s and don’ts for giving references;
- Employee rights to unemployment benefits in California;
- How to protect your company from termination-related lawsuits;
- And much more!
It’s like having a California employment lawyer on call, working on your most pressing termination questions and concerns, at a fraction of the cost!
Best of all, we’ll send you a brand-new edition each year so you always have the most up-to-date policies available. Don’t delay—order today, and make sure your termination processes are in order, before you get sued.
Download your copy of How To Survive an Employee Lawsuit: 10 Tips for Success today!
With the high cost of turnover, though, it can sometimes be more economical to invest some time in trying turn an employee around. You hired him or her for a reason, presumably, so why not try to help them be the employee you expected?