How to Let A Team Member Go When It Isn't the Right Fit?
Sometimes you hire someone only to find out after a few weeks, that they are not the right fit for the company culture or they have massively overstated their previous experience.
Other times, your business changes and that employee you hired 3 years ago hasn’t changed with it and now it is harming your growth.
In these situations, you might consider letting your team member go.
Having to let someone go might seem like a difficult thing to do, especially if it is something you have never done before. However, we always remind our clients that keeping employees that do not serve the best interest of your business not only wastes their time but can cause more damage to the company in the long run. Particularly in a small business, if you have one member of staff who is not performing at the same level, it can impact the culture. That might then cause some of your top-performing team members to become frustrated and consider leaving.
Does this mean you should let someone go as soon as the thought pops into your head?
No, it's important not to make any rushed decisions and take the time to assess the employee's performance before making the final call.
What does that thought process look like? And what should you do when you’ve decided to let them go? That is what we discuss in this blog.
Think about why the person isn't working out
Before you do anything, think about why things are not working out with this employee.
Try to break it down into specific examples so you can understand why the employee is not performing well.
Maybe they were given a particular set of tasks that they struggled with? Perhaps they were in a high-pressure situation that they did not expect? Could they have been given more preparation for a specific task? Is there something happening in their personal life that might be impacting their performance?
Exploring that line of thought can help you decide the best way to move forward in that particular situation.
Is the solution additional training? Or perhaps mentorship from another team member? Could you talk to your employee to find out what caused certain mistakes, what happened from their perspective and what can be done to prevent them from happening again in the future?
Has the person been discriminated against in any way?
Ask yourself this question, has this employee been discriminated against in any way?
Discrimination in the workplace is a serious issue that can severely harm the employee’s performance and the company's image.
Discrimination comes in many forms, such as:
Age
Gender Reassignment
Being married or in a civil partnership
Being pregnant or on maternity leave
Disability
Race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
Religion or belief
Sex
Sexual Orientation
If the employee has been discriminated against on these grounds, acting as fast as possible is essential.
These situations can cause irreversible damage to the company and your workplace culture. That is why it is valuable to have a reliable HR service that will investigate the problem and come up with a solution in the fastest manner.
Some forms of discrimination can be difficult to identify so it is helpful to ask an independent HR person to look into this with you. If this sounds like something you need support with, our Pay As You Go HR Service might be for you.
Is the person in their probationary period, or do they have less than two years of service?
If you reach the stage where you are happy that the person has been fairly treated and they have had a reasonable opportunity to improve but you have decided the best thing is to dismiss the employee, the next thing you need to check is their length of service.
If the employee is in their probationary period or has less than two years of service, you can usually call a meeting without any notice to tell them it hasn't worked out.
On the other hand, if they have more than two years of service, proceed with caution as the process is different.
Employees with more than 2 years of service have the right to put forward an unfair dismissal claim at the tribunal. This is something you don’t want and to minimise the risk of an employee you dismiss exercising that right, you need to show you have a valid reason for the dismissal and follow the correct process (which includes having a formal meeting).
Following the correct process for your business will depend on what is written in your policies and procedures. If you need help deciding what process to follow then you can work with us on a Pay As You Go basis and have access to our HR expertise.
Let Them Go In A Human Way
How do you let someone go?
We would always advise that it is done in person or via a video call. Avoid using text or email to break the news as that can come across as impersonal. We recommend trying to do it in the fairest and kindest way possible.
When you meet with the employee, you should provide clear reasons for your decision. It's important to state those reasons, so the employee will know that the decision was strictly business-related and not personal.
When you dismiss an employee they are entitled to the notice period set out in their contract. You can pay this in Lieu, meaning they will not need to work their notice, and their last working day will be the day you told them their contract had been terminated.
To Wrap Things Up
As your small business or start-up grows, it is likely that you will have to tell an employee that they are dismissed one day. We hope that this blog post gives you the confidence to move forward with decisions that are both in the best interests of your business and are fair to employees. Remember if you need any extra support there are several ways we can help you in a variety of ways from our Pay As You Go HR Service to our HR Advisor Service.