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March 2008
Firing for Poor Performance Should Never Be a Surprise

Getting fired for poor performance is one of the worst things that can happen. Ok, it's not as bad as waking up to find that you're now known as Client # 9. But getting fired for poor performance is still pretty bad. It's even worse when the firing comes as a total surprise.

When you as a leader fire a person for poor performance, that firing should NEVER come as a surprise to the employee. And yet this happens more than you might think.

Last year a company president told me about a person she had fired for poor performance. During their meeting, the employee was "totally blown away" by his being fired. He hadn't seen it coming at all. He apparently never had any idea that he was in danger.

The company president described the meeting with that employee as "gut-wrenching, totally traumatic," because of the employee's bitterness, anger, and hostility. If she felt it was traumatic, and she knew what was going on, imagine how the employee felt.

I asked why the firing had come as such a surprise to her employee. She admitted that, in retrospect, she probably hadn't done enough in prior discussions to let him know how poorly he was performing.

During these previous discussions, she came away feeling she had been very clear and to the point. But the employee's genuine surprise and anger during his firing told the president otherwise.

This happens because we practice conflict avoidance, a topic I wrote about last year. We tend to avoid conflict because it's unpleasant, uncomfortable. (See the end of the column for a free download about 14 methods for dealing with conflict.)

But had the president embraced conflict by having
straightforward discussions with the employee, the end result might not have been as unpleasant. Meeting the situation head on might have turned the employee around, rather than sending him out the door.

And remember, replacing that employee generally costs between 50% and 150% of his annual salary. You could probably put up with a lot of unpleasant discussions to save that kind of money, to turn that poor performer into a good performer.

Another way to look at firings coming as a total shock to those being fired, is that some personality types are just not as comfortable with, and therefore not as proficient at, communicating negative information.

They're so tactful and diplomatic that they don't get the point across as clearly as they'd like. They're TOO tactful and diplomatic. That means they need to work exceedingly hard at making sure the other person understands how poorly he or she is performing.

Other personality types have no problems dealing with conflict, communicating bad news about an employee's poor performance.  Some even seem to enjoy it.

It's all about straightforwardness, a behavior that builds
congruence. I'm sure you remember that congruence is one of the elements of trust. (The others are openness, acceptance, and reliability.)

When we're being straightforward about the person's
performance, and we're being clear about our expectations, and the consequences if we don't see improvement, we're building trust. Even if that means that the employee knows his or her job might be on the line.

And if we're tying all of this to the company purpose, then the employee knows it's not personal. It's all about meeting the needs of the customers. The employee may not like it, but at least he or she will know where you stand.

That will mean no surprise if it comes to your having to fire that employee.

One thing you can do to ensure that you got the point across is put it in writing. Follow up the discussion with an email or memo summarizing the conversation, detailing how the employee's performance is unsatisfactory, and what will demonstrate improvement.

Or, have the other person write up the summary of your conversation. That way, if he or she doesn't' get it right, you can correct the record.

If you're consistently being straightforward and clear, a
firing should never be a surprise. Nor should any performance appraisal be a surprise, since performance appraisal is an ongoing process, not an annual event.

What are you doing to make sure the people know how they're performing, and what you expect of them?

If you'd like a free copy of Fourteen Methods For Dealing With Conflict, a one-page document, just click on this link and follow the directions for downloading the pdf:  14 Methods for Dealing with Conflict

Until next edition, keep leading the way!

Copyright (C) 2008 by Terry Wall

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