Staffing Your Business, Part 3: Termination

At some point in your career, you’ll hire someone who seems like they’re great, but then sooner or later, they’re not so great and need to go. When this happens, stick to your standards to assess the situation.

Disclaimer: Pike13 provides this information with the understanding that it is not rendering legal services. This information is not a substitute for the advice of a competent legal professional. If you need legal advice, please consult with an attorney.

In Part 1 of this post I discussed staff recruiting. Part 2 dived into training and incentivizing your staff. In this post I'll offer tips for training your staff and incentivizing them to stay long-term. 

Terminations 

Terminations are a reality of business, and they aren't fun. But there are things you can do to make the process a bit easier. 

Your staff interacts with your clients every single day. Imagine you’re the client - is the service/treatment worth your dollar? “Your clients and remaining staff will thank you for firing them—if you’re unhappy with them, your staff and clients will be 10 times more unhappy,” says Brian Wilson of CrossFit Potomac.

Know when it’s time to cut someone loose. If you start seeing red flags—whether early in the onboarding, or after hiring—don't wait too long to take action.

First, have a progressive discipline structure in place before the red flags. Progressive discipline doesn’t need to be inflexible, but should at least give you a framework to handle difficult employees. Counseling or a verbal warning can often correct undesirable behavior without the need for a written warning. The Society for Human Resource Management is a great resource for HR handbooks, templates and tools.

Tips on the Termination Process

When it has to be done, it has to be done. These tips will make the process a little smoother. 

• Give them a warning—but have a limit on how many! It could be one or it could be five depending on the severity of the behavior.
  
  

• Check past feedback to see if behavior is consistent. A good reason for progressive discipline. Many owners might want to fire an employee for repeated infractions, but if it’s not written down, signed, and dated, it never happened.
  
  

• When firing, make a list of the exact reasons for the termination—don’t let them try to talk you out of it.
  
  

• If possible, have one other owner, supervisor, or employee present for the termination.
  
  

• Have all termination paperwork ready and organized in a packet before the termination.
  
  

• Termination discussions should last no longer than five minutes. If the employee has questions, they can call or email later, when emotions are level.
  
  

• Don’t let the employee “linger”— unless they need a few days to finished up their job; get them out ASAP.
  
  

• Offer dignity and respect in their leave, but do not hide or downplay the reason for the termination. Other employees often seek out a reason for a termination, so it’s best to take control of that conversation. This is especially true when the firing was due to unacceptable behavior—this reinforces business standards and draws a “red line.”
  
  

• Don’t fight employee’s claim for unemployment benefits if you don't have a progressive discipline structure and records. Records should include verbal and written warnings given, and a termination notice including the specific reason for dismissing the employee. Unemployment claim battles can be crippling for small businesses (running thousands of dollars each month!). So if you’ve documented the infractions, it may be in your best interest to fight the claim.
  
  
• Always terminate an employee after they have committed an infraction. Don’t wait until a week after they’ve done something wrong to dismiss them.
  

A Happy Staff is Good for Business 

If you don’t approach staffing with thought and consideration, you’re putting your business’s well-being at risk. Now that you have these tips to refer to, go forth and build a great team for your business.

One of the top reasons why business owners love Pike13 is that their staff loves it more. 

See Pike13 in action by requesting a free 20-minute demo. 

Feature Photo Credit: Alan Levine