Dear Tony,

I need to let someone on my team go because they are not performing to what the job requires.  Any advice on how best to deal with this?  I’m really struggling on how to deliver the message.

-Letting Go in Lawrence 

Dear Letting Go,

Letting someone go can be one of the most difficult moments for both the employer and the employee.  Often fraught with emotion, it stirs up all kinds of stress, anxiety, and sometimes pain for both the employee, family, or other loved ones.  Below are my points when faced with this situation. 

First, make sure you are making an objective assessment of performance, and that you have documented a fact pattern of performance and that it is indeed lacking.  Furthermore, be sure to communicate to the employee the gap in performance, and document each discussion you have with the employee for later reference.  Over time, if the performance doesn’t improve despite efforts to coach, support, and inform the employee, it is probably time to move on.  When you come to this conclusion, my advice is to address the issue in a timely manner.  If you don’t, nothing in the employee performance will change, but your attitude will get worse over time.

A note here about empathy, as well as leadership.  If you don’t feel a little bit bad about letting someone go, you probably shouldn’t be in the leadership role you are. In addition, and equally important, if you can’t make the call to let someone go, you equally shouldn’t be in a leadership position.  You need empathy as well as the discipline to let the person go. 

Secondly, prepare for the conversation.  It may help to write everything down and explain to the employee that despite multiple efforts to avoid this firing, the process has come to an end and you must part ways.  Whatever resources your firm can provide explain them in detail.  Be prepared to provide follow-up communication because the employee may not be in a position to listen very well given the potential for emotions to be high upon learning of the firing.   Support can come in the form of some type of severance, or job hunt assistance, or any number of things upon exit from the firm. 

I always advise having someone with you who can act as a witness for how the conversation goes.  Typically this is from an HR function but it can be anyone if you are in a smaller firm.  The key is to have an objective witness. 

I believe it’s wise to inform others in the firm about the person leaving.  I know some firms don’t favor any type of announcement, and it's uncommon in larger firms, but I believe there is value in communicating when someone is let go.  The announcement can be simple, without going into the reasons for someone’s termination which should be kept confidential.

-Tony

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