While you want to avoid a bad hire before it happens, sometimes the scenario is unavoidable. But how long do you hold on hoping things improve or change with the new investment? Before you waste another day or another dollar, here are the things you should consider when planning a termination.
- If their skills aren't up to expectations. Their resume looked great. They were eloquent in the interviewing process. Even their references made it sound like they would be a good fit. So what happened? Their learning curve is taking a lot longer than you would have expected. If you've given it 90 days and they still aren't at the level you were promised, you may want to cut the cord.
- If they are affecting coworkers. Maybe their skills are spot-on, but their attitude changed once they started working. Lots of people will put on their best act for an interview but quickly return to their negative ways once they feel that they have the job. But negativity can really upset an otherwise positive work environment, and if their presence is affecting your other staff, there needs to be a change.
- If you get bad feedback from clients. Not everyone will be happy with the service they get all the time, but that doesn’t mean you should dismiss the customer feedback that you receive. Look at it objectively, talk to the employee and find out why you're hearing the negative feedback. If the feedback is consistently negative and starts to affect your relationships with clients or vendors, you may wish to start again.
- If they've made an egregious error. It doesn't have to be a new employee who is the cause of a major disaster. Of course, you don't want to fire someone who consistently performs well, but if there is an error that is unrecoverable, you may have to. A few things might lead to this situation, but anything that could be illegal or affect your business or reputation negatively should have severe consequences.
Do you have questions about the protocol for terminating an employee? Call us at 757-523-0605 for guidance.