I Just Fired My First Employee

[thekunk07]

you'll get over it. i've had to fire 25+ people over the years. never enjoyed it, even when deserved, but you will get over it/used to it.

 

[HEWSINATOR]

Originally Posted by JLibourel

I had to fire a subordinate employee once... had only recently been promoted over him.

The he who hires is he who fires rule is relevant to prevent situations like this.

 

[Bradford]

I've had to fire a few employees and while it sucks to do, you also have to keep in mind that there are good reasons for doing what you are doing. Assuming you've gone through a normal process, as a good boss you've tried to counsel and give the employee the opportunity to improve their work If they have failed to do so in a satisfactory way then it is really the employees fault, not yours.

Of course, when I've been the one on the other end of the stick I certainly didn't agree with this assessment

 

[kwilkinson]

I've had to fire five people before. Four of them were truck drivers, so it was no big deal. The turnover in the trucking industry is absolutely insane. One was an office worker, who knew it was coming and was more than likely causing hell b/c he was too much of a ***** assed biotch to quit or walk out on his own.

 

[Gus]

In 28 years of owning my own company I fired a lot of people. It was never easy but your staff respects you for doing the right thing. Once someone is fired, you always discover more reasons why they should have been gone long ago. I'm sure you did the right thing.

 

[West24]

on time i fired out a nasty fart. it was harsh and cruel, but it had to be done. everyone respected me more so for doing it.

 

[JeffsWood]

Originally Posted by Douglas

I usually feel more like **** going into it than coming out of it.

+1

I can't say anyone I ever fired was suprised - as it he kind of thing that doesn't happen overnight, but still the build up to it is rather ******.

 

[mafoofan Jr.]

Don't feel bad, he asked for it by choosing an unappreciated profession. I would rejoice if I get a chance to fire a lawyer.

 

[nordicstyle]

Originally Posted by Lawman

Just five minutes ago. And I feel like ****. After 17 years of the big firm thing, I am living the dream of having my own law firm with two good friends as partners, who also happen to be exceptional lawyers.

It just wasn't working out with this paralegal. Today is one of the few bad days.

Just thought I'd share.

I know how hard it can be. I've had to do this two times myself, and it's never easy. Fortunately, both times the employee was in their trial period (six months trial with one month's notice before permanent hire is the norm where I work), but it still is hard to tell someone they are not the right person for the job.

One of the people I had to fire was a friend of mine, which made it even harder, but as it turned out he got offered another position in a different department, so it all worked out in the end.

I think the most important part of the process is to be professional, show the other person respect, and explain your reasons for making the decision. It's best if you can give some constructive feedback so the person may use the experience to change in the future.

 

[SystemShock]

LOL, interesting thread. But I'm looking at it from the other side, i.e. the guy who's getting hired or 'fired'. Due to my circumstances, you could fire me, and I'd probably not care much at all, unless your company was a pretty darn good one. Might help to put things in perspective to look at things from the other side for a minute. I've mostly been a contractor, and I've sometimes had to work in some real hellholes to stay busy. So jobs have been mostly 'disposable' for me... actually, the most awkward part has been doing a good job as a contractor in some fairly dead-end job, and then being offered said dead-end job permanently, and then having to say no to them. Bosses become strangely indignant over that one, for some reason. One place even asked me to write a two-page paper as to why I was turning them down. Weird.

It cuts the other way, sure... I've also been let go prematurely a couple of times (though, as a contractor, I can't say I was really "fired"). This was more early in my career, when I'd work at a hellhole and let my contempt for the place and how things were run come through a bit too obviously. And of course, bad bosses really freak out over the slightest dissent, because they tend to be very political and see stuff like that as a big threat to them. Even from contractors. Nowadays, I'm a bit more discreet, even if the place does suck. First rule of employment, make no enemies. Still, it's kind of vindication when you leave a hellhole, and then a few months later read about how they've shut their doors for good. That's happened on more than one occasion. You can just sort of tell when a place doesn't have it's sh** together, and I've run across many places that definitely misrepresented themselves to me, in terms of their level of success and quality of working environment. Seems to be a Silicon Valley thing... the really good places, you can't get in without quite a pedigree, and the bad places pretend to be good. So I guess, for me, I have little fear of being let go. I'm financially pretty set right now, and I've seen how arbitrary and random and well, just plain *stupid* the sub-par workplaces are in terms of their decision-making, and yes, hiring/firings. If it's a sub-par place, DON'T feel bad about firing someone from it. You're doing them a bit of a favor, actually, unless they're in financial dire straits. I've seen way too many awesome workers around me being denied promotions (I call them 'unsung heroes'), while the flatterers and political game-players get moved up the ladder. Then they wonder why the bosses don't know their head from a hole in the ground... you can see how they came up. "Heckuva job Brownie", and all that. Didn't work during Katrina, and doesn't work in the corporate world either. I dunno, maybe someday I'll find a truly awesome place to work, and stay. But 'til then, I'll be one of those hard-working contractors that takes jobs at lame companies who pretend to have it together to get you in there, and who only gets offered perm positions in places that I'd never stick around at. ...

 

[joeygladstone]

don't worry in the future you will fire an asshole and it'll be fun