MBA2272 Why It’s So Hard To Fire Someone & How To Do It The Right Way

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And a lot of that has to do with the fact that it's so hard to have that conversation, whether it's in person or on a video call to let them know their services are no longer needed. In today's lesson, we're gonna take a look at why is this so hard in the first place? I was actually quite shocked when I started to learn it doesn't matter how many times I do this, it's still just as bad as the first time. But along the way, I also learned how to do this properly. How to make sure when it's time to say goodbye to a team member, you do it right. Not only for them and for you, but for your team that is still with you. It is natural to have to fire somebody. You're not always gonna have the right person as your team starts to grow. Some people don't grow with you. There's nothing wrong with doing this, but how you do it really matters. So let's get into it. Let's get down to business. Today's episode is sponsored by NordPass Business. 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This is so hard. And of course you get over it as time goes by, but the experience is just not pleasant. And what I'm here to tell you is that this is normal. Why? Because any relationship, even if it's an employee employer relationship, is a relationship. It's a breakup. So somebody you work with for a period of time is no longer going to be working with you and you are breaking up, right? You are the one who's making the decision to no longer to be in this relationship. So obviously it's confronting. It's hard. It's not easy to have this discussion. And a big part of the reason why it's so hard is because you probably have experienced it more than once when you're doing it. What I mean by that is you're playing it out in your head way before it even happens. You're imagining it, you're rehearsing it in your head. You are then doing it and then you're reliving it, thinking about it when it's over. So you experience the emotions of this confrontation over and over and over. And this takes a toll on you. This is why it's helpful to already have a system of having this conversation when you fire somebody so that you can just refer to this system, refer to this format and not have to think about it beforehand or after. And here's the bottom line. No one wants to fire anybody. But you're doing it for your business, to survive, to do well, to serve your customers, to continue to give excellent service or quality of service or products. You're making the tough decisions on behalf of your company. And that's what leaders do. So we know this cognitively, we know that the rationale, we understand that this makes sense, that we have to do it. But I'm gonna get a little deeper. Another big reason why it's hard to fire somebody is because it's your fault. I know that sounds weird. Hey, if I'm firing somebody, doesn't that mean they're not doing their job and therefore it's their fault? Well, not exactly. They didn't just appear in your business, right? You hired them. You made a decision to hire this person. If you have to fire this person at some point, this most likely means that was a poor decision, right? You made a mistake. That's a bad hire. And that's tough because it really hurts to hear that when or to know that inside that you screw this up. But at the end of the day, it's your job to hold yourself accountable. You are responsible. You are responsible for what happens in your business, including bad hires. This is why I make it a rule, if you hire them and they don't work out, you have to fire them. This includes me. I'm part of the hiring process for most of our hires, if not all. So I have to be part of the process of firing. I have to take responsibility and do that, right? And take ownership over that decision. Why I need to feel uncomfortable by it. That pain is gonna help me do a better job when I hire new people, knowing that I don't wanna go through this process again. So I better find somebody who is a better fit. So I don't have to fire them, right? I don't have to go through this process. Now, obviously, there are some exceptions. Sometimes you're gonna have to fire somebody because maybe they were good for a period of time, a series of years, a chapter in your business, and they're no longer growing with you, or they've maybe had a change in their life and it's just not working out. These are exceptions, of course, but we're not talking about the exception here. We're Talking about what normally happens. So take full responsibility. Take ownership. Understand it's your responsibility to fire this person because you hired them. And that most likely was a poor hire. So how do you do it the right way? How do you make sure that you have this process down pat? And you just do this every time you have to make a fire? Hopefully not that often. It's basically just three parts. It's very simple. You tell them what's happening. You tell them briefly why it's happening, and thirdly, what happens next. And by the way, this is not a long conversation. This is not a long meeting. This usually lasts less than five minutes, if that at all. And in my opinion, you should not drag this out. You should get to the point immediately. So just start by just stating the fact of the fact they're being fired. Just say, hey, unfortunately, our relationship, our working relationship has to come to an end. We're unable to continue to work with you because xyz because our needs have changed, or maybe we have tried to work with you to get XYZ done in the company. You weren't able to accomplish these goals, and therefore we're going to have to part ways. Usually they're just not hitting milestones, they're not hitting KPIs. That's why you have to let them go, so you can find somebody that does. So tell them that flat out, we're going to have to part ways because you're not hitting your KPIs, because we're not fulfilling our goals as a team. Because you're not fulfilling your goals as a team member. This is one or two sentences, right? What's going to happen next? Thanks so much for all your hard work. Your last day is this day. This is what's going to happen. This is your final pay. This is what HR is going to do, Right? They're gonna be in touch. Now, all the details after that don't really matter. You could really just tell them the news that they're being let go, they're being fired, their time is up. This is why. And then what's gonna happen next? You're gonna be contacted by hr. They're gonna tell you what your next steps are. Your last day is so and so. If you have any questions, email this person or message this person in your team. This could be your executive assistant. It could be you. But that's it. Okay? That's basically it. Now, in most cases, that's where it ends. Sometimes, in my experience, the team member will ask some questions, like, is there Anything I can do? Can I get another chance? I could do better. Things like that. It's okay. If you'd like to have this conversation, and the way I like to handle it is I like to remind them of the conversations we had before we got to this point. Meaning I will never get to the point where I will have to fire somebody without having a ton of discussions about their performance, about figuring out how we can improve, putting them on a plan, giving them training, supporting them along the way. They should understand that when we're having this meeting, this is not the first time we're talking about this. Right? And this should be the case for you. You should always try to reinvest it in your team members, in your employees. You've hired them. It's in your best interest to try to make sure that they get better. If they can't get better, if they're just not doing it, if they're not making it happen and hitting their KPIs and achieving the goals you have set out for them and you've given them the required time to do so, this should not be a surprise. Now, having said that, there are a lot of people that are surprised by this. Even though you've given all these warnings and trainings and all these kinds of things, and that's natural and that's fine. Some people are like that. And this is why you might have to explain, hey, remember we had this conversation. Remember I put you on this plan? Remember when we had these new goals set out? Remember we adjusted your goals? I've tried my best, reinvest in you and make sure things will work out, but unfortunately, it's not working out. We're not hitting our goals. And I have, you know, my responsibilities as the leader of this team. And I have a duty to my customers to make sure we hit these goals. And this is why our relationship has come to an end. Reaffirm that this is happening right. You are being let go. You're being fired. Now, I know that this might be a difficult conversation for you to actually conduct and to say these words. And that's why I recommend writing it down, even if you have to read it off your screen. I know that sounds strange, but it's important for you not to waffle or to babble or to wing it. You need to have this tight, because when you don't have it tight, it's unclear. You're sending mixed messages and it's not good for them. It's not good for you. Today's episode is sponsored by NordPass Business did you know that over 60% of organizations report that access issues impact their productivity? In the same report, 31% said access issues are the source of daily disruptions to their workflow. That's a lot of energy and time lost in your business. Luckily, there's NordPass business to save the day. We highly recommend that every business get NordPass business. Why? Because NordPass business is a password manager that will save you time and energy, allowing your team to focus on what matters most. You can store and access all your online accounts from anywhere. 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A couple more tips when it comes to firing Every time a team member leaves Us, whether we fire them, whether they resign, whether it's a layoff, whatever it is, okay, anytime we have to thank them. They have spent a period of time in their life working for you, helping you and your business, helping your customers, helping you fulfill your dreams, right? So I always have to, have to, have to send a message thanking them before they leave. And I do this publicly so the whole team sees. Hey, so and so last day is this day. We want to thank them for their time, their effort, their commitment. Thank you so much for all their hard work and their efforts. We appreciate everything they put into the business in our product and we wish them all the best. Why? Because everything you do in your business, your team members are watching. They are observing how you lead. And it's easy to lead when things are good. But when things are hard or you're doing difficult things like firing somebody or letting somebody go, they're also looking very carefully. How are you conducting yourself? Are you professional? Are you doing this with kindness? Are you acknowledging contributions that were made? Anytime somebody leaves the team, there is some effect on morale and we want to make sure that we manage that as much as possible. Keep it as positive as possible. Okay? Now this should cascade to your managers so your managers continue to echo this positivity as well as this thankfulness to this team member as they're sun setting, as they're finishing up their duties and their last days with you. My goal is always to part way as friends, to part ways understanding that, hey, we had a period of time together. We appreciate that time, but our time has come to an end and most people can appreciate that. Thanks so much for listening to the Hundred Dollar MBA show. I hope today's episode helped. I hope it gives you some comfort and a game plan when time comes because we're all going to face this as we start growing our business when it's time to say goodbye to a team member. If you enjoyed this you found this helpful, please share this episode on your favorite social media platform. Let people know you listen to the $100 NBA show. Send them to100nba.net thank you so much for your support. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. If you have to fire somebody, understand that this is an uncomfortable conversation and it's going to have some effect on your day. So make sure you schedule it properly and you're not having to like give a speech right after or do an interview. Give yourself the space to, to absorb what happened and to really bounce back and be ready for the next task. Thanks so much for listening and I'll check you in tomorrow's episode. I'll see you then. Take care. Of.

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