By Stacey Thompson
For most monolithic corporations, letting go of an employee is something of a matter of course. All the necessary clearance forms, waivers, and all manner of other paperwork is just a print request away. An individual leaves the company, and barely anyone notices. Human resources arranges for a new hire within weeks. Life goes on.
This isnÂt the case with smaller companies and startups. With a leaner workforce of multitasking members, having any one individual leaving the fold carries much more of an impact. Everybody knows everyone, and more often than not, there are bonds that transcend being just colleagues; people are actually friends with each other. They might even know each otherÂs spouse, parents and children. This is not an office of faceless people.
So, letÂs say you are the commander-in-chief of a scruffy little startup that could. Utilizing your best judgement, and a considerable number of after-hours sessions deliberating with your companyÂs officers, you have come to the conclusion that you have to let go of one of the core members of your foundational posse. Another quandary looms over your head:
Just how are you going to go about it?
Honesty: Still the Best Policy?
In a word, yes. Still, given the potential of hurt feelings and severed ties, one must be able to deliver the truth in a less hurtful way. There is no room for public shaming or creating some dramatic Hollywood-esque scene here. Even if you think this person deserves a flogging in front of his would-be former colleagues, do hold back the urge and realize that you will be dealing them an already painful blow by showing them the door.
Meet with the person in private, lay down all the facts that led you into the decision of letting them go, and as a friend, offer some consolation, and an assurance that he or she will walk out of the company with positive feedback and recommendations. This assumes you are letting them go for unsatisfactory performance, of course. If they committed some grave offense (or insistently committed minor ones), you are under no obligation to soften the blow of getting fired.
Fired, or Encouraged to Resign?
As mentioned above, if this person simply failed to meet your standards of performance, and did not willingly take a course of action that harmed the company or its employees, you could go a little easy on him.
You could offer the opportunity to make a graceful exit by allowing them to voluntarily resign from their post. Resignation from the company would look infinitely better than being booted out, and it will not hurt their employability later on.
On Burning Bridges
The world is an awfully small place, thanks to technology. The person you are handing walking papers to might just be on the other side of the table in the future, you may never know. DonÂt get me wrong, there are people that you absolutely should minimize contact with (be it at work or in your personal life), but consider all the facts and think things through before ever branding someone as a person not worth associating with.
Ideally, you would want your about-to-be ex-employee leaving with the knowledge of why he/she was let go, and consequently, what they should do to improve themselves so that they will not suffer the same fate in the future. You may have been the bringer of bad news on that day, but if you were sincere and made them realize that they needed improve themselves (as opposed to becoming vengeful and bitter without correcting their deficiencies), they will not lose respect for you.
I know itÂs unlikely, but may you never, ever need to fire anyone. Onward, entrepreneurs!
