by Henry Case

Created on: December 16, 2009

Firing an employee for poor performance is never an easy thing. If they were caught stealing or lying, it would be a whole different issue. But before you can fire an employee for poor performance, you have to ensure that you have done everything possible to try to help the employee improve. First, ask yourself a few questions:

Has the employee received the proper training required to perform the task?

Was the employee hired or promoted into a position that they can't handle?

Does the employee have distractions that are keeping him/her for doing the best work possible?

Is the employee performing poorly due to poor morale in the office?

Obviously, there are a million reasons why an employee could be performing poorly. But if he/she is simply not doing their work, you have to face the eventuality that they may have to be fired. Before taking such a drastic step though, a performance plan should be devised for the employee to let them know that they are performing below expectations and to give them clear goals which need to be met.

A performance plan is important because it gives the manager a chance to sit down with the employee and tell them plainly that they need to improve. But instead of just berating the employee for their performance, a plan with clear guidelines and goals gives the employee benchmarks they have to meet and guarantees that the manager cannot be accused of firing the employee due to personal disagreements or other issues. If there is a document, signed by the manager and employee, that states what is expected of the employee, it is hard to argue that the manager did not do everything possible to avoid having to fire the employee.

Besides a performance plan, the manager could also assign a mentor to work with the employee. A mentor can be a top performer or somebody who has been at the company a long time and knows what they are doing. If the employee in question is performing poorly because he/she is lazy, the mentor can do little to help them improve. But if they are having difficulty catching up or don't know their way around the company yet, a mentor can provide invaluable advice.

If, however, after all of these attempts the employee is still not performing, the manager need to once again sit down with him/her and give them the opportunity to quit before they are fired. If the employee is somebody likable and willing to work, but simply overwhelmed in their current position, the manager could always look for easier positions within the company for the employee.

Learn more about this author, Henry Case.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.