Let's Fire the Incompetent Employee

We've all seen the incompetent employee: The employee who just can't seem to effectively handle their responsibilities; the one who doesn't contribute much to the organization. Although we may recognize this individual typically the employee continues to work, or work too long.

Why is it so Difficult?

Incompetent employees are employed by most companies, large or small. They seem to be tolerated or indulged and not called to task. It's much easier to dismiss the employee who doesn't come to work, is disloyal, or disruptive, a substance abuser, a thief or a cheat. I suppose it's human nature.

Efforts at Rehabilitation

What's wrong with rehabilitating the incompetent employee? Can't we help him, or her, improve their level of performance to an acceptable level? Of course we should try. The poor performer may need additional training, remedial education, a new assignment, etc. Perhaps there is a mismatch between the person's abilities and skills and the position to which they are assigned, and a reassignment may be warranted.. It's worth it to give the problem employee every chance. Maybe he or she will surprise you!

Of course training may not correct the problem, re-education may not suffice and there may not be a suitable position to which the employee can successfully be reassigned. What do we do then?

Documentation

Hopefully the employee is a participant in the MBO (Management by Objectives) program. If so, has the manager been forthright in evaluating the employee's performance? If not, this is the time to rectify that problem. Employees should be held to realistic, and reasonable, performance standards. These standards should be included in Position Description and Position Expectation documents, made available to, and agreed to by the employee.

Employees need to have periodic reviews, which are documented and discussed with the employee so that the employee has fair opportunity to improve. The time frame needs to be fair, and the support and monitoring rigorous. The time and effort to create and document all aspects of the Performance Improvement Plan must be invested if the employer doesn't want to run afoul of the labor laws. The plan and outcome must not be perceived as unfair, discriminatory or punitive. The outcome must be appropriate and warranted.

The HR (Human Resources) department will be the most important resource throughout this entire process, especially when it comes to the next steps. They will have policies that pertain to "Progressive Discipline" and be aware of requirements to avoid "wrongful termination" suits. They will make sure everything is in order, justifiable, and legal.

Here's the Unpleasant Part

Let's say that despite all of the manager's (and perhaps the employee's) best efforts improvement is not achieved. Then, the discharge process must be initiated. Up to now it has all been positive and constructive, but this is the time to look out for the organization's best interests. After all, it's a money-making enterprise and feelings and compassion must take a backseat to business purpose. This is not "tough love," it's just tough.

The employee needs to be warned about the possibility of discharge, the exact reasons why, and the fact that management has unsuccessfully tried to rehabilitate, retrain, and/or improve the employees performance. The employee should also be provided with adequate notice of termination or allowed to resign with dignity. A suitable severance package may be in order, particularly for an employee with tenure. As the process may be extremely difficult for the incumbent offers of transitional assistance, help in finding a new position, etc., may be required or desired.

Hopefully you won't, as a manager, find yourself in this dilemma, but if you do, the approaches and actions described in this article will help you through the process.

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Let's Fire the Incompetent Employee