{"id":54472,"date":"2024-09-11T09:58:33","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T09:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/?p=54472"},"modified":"2024-09-20T14:51:18","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T14:51:18","slug":"how-to-fire-someone-nicely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/how-to-fire-someone-nicely","title":{"rendered":"How To Fire A Team Member (And Still Sleep At Night)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Firing someone \ud83d\ude2c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the ultimate dirty word in People Ops circles \u2014 especially now, when the job market sucks, layoffs are high and competition for new roles is frankly insane. For many of us, firing someone is often perceived as we\u2019re doing something morally wrong or evil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But let\u2019s take the emotion out of firing someone for a minute. Why is<\/em> this such a huge issue for People Ops? \ud83e\udd14<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reality is, terminating someone\u2019s employment doesn\u2019t happen in a vacuum. I’ll bet the employee was underperforming. Or perhaps a bad culture fit<\/a>. Maybe they were impacting team morale. Or worse… all of the above. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think the biggest issue for People Ops teams is when the (inevitable) firing doesn\u2019t happen fast enough. Waiting to cut someone loose if they aren’t a good fit (or frankly doing a sh*t job) can pull down the rest of your company \u2014 and your bottom line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this guide, you\u2019ll learn Toggl\u2019s playbook for firing people the right way without trashing your reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why <\/strong>not<\/em><\/strong> firing employees is a mistake <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Retaining employees doesn\u2019t just help teams do better work. On paper, it keeps hiring costs down, creates long-term team relationships, and keeps skilled employees in your company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, keeping employees around doesn\u2019t always<\/em> work out like this. High employee retention is goal for People Ops departments, but it should never mean shying away from terminating contracts if a team member isn\u2019t a good fit or is hurting company culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would go as far as saying the biggest issue People Ops departments make around terminations is they don\u2019t<\/strong> make the call as fast as they should. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was (definitely) once the thinking for Toggl\u2019s People Ops team. The company prided itself on employee tenure, where many team members had been with the business since it began. Mistakenly, I thought this was the best indicator of a healthy company culture and how good things were for employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was misguided. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our decision not to fire people ended up holding our company back. Like many companies, we avoided firing team members in the hope behavior or poor performance could be turned around. Instead, we focused on improving employee experience (something 47% of HR leaders<\/a> also prioritize) and cultivating an environment where every employee would do their best work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We thought not sacking employees who underperformed or didn\u2019t mesh with our culture would impact team morale. But not taking action actually ended up negatively impacting everyone\u2019s workflow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now for a controversial take that probably shouldn\u2019t be controversial. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not all firings are equal, and parting ways in some situations can be the best thing you can do for your team and your company.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s take a look at how we built a playbook at Toggl to handle underperforming or bad-fit employees and decide when it’s time to let them go \ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lessons on how we learned to fire people the right way<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lesson 1. Don\u2019t jump to firing people \u2014 try to improve the situation first<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Team members are just that, members of your team. Firing shouldn\u2019t (and isn\u2019t) the first step you take when someone isn\u2019t performing or meshing well with the rest of the team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We came across this with a veteran developer lead we had at Toggl (let\u2019s call him John). He wasn\u2019t rude or dismissive, but his long tenure and deep knowledge made him less approachable over time. When team members asked for feedback or advice, it was usually correct but also delivered in a way that made the rest of the team feel inadequate <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time and time again, conversations like this would land in my Slack inbox: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daria<\/em><\/strong>: I just found out the marketing team messed something up. Again. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me:<\/em><\/strong> Oh no, what happened this time? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daria<\/em><\/strong>: They didn’t come to ask for help. Instead, they went ahead and did things on their own. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me:<\/em><\/strong> That\u2019s frustrating. We really need to encourage them to collaborate more, especially when they’re unsure about something.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of reaching out to John for help, the marketing team didn\u2019t want to deal with the toxic communication style and tackled the issue themselves. Over time, these mistakes became very expensive and started to hurt the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We tried giving John feedback multiple times to adjust his communication style using our Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This tool, created for our management team, gives employees with recurring performance issues \u2014 anything from not delivering results to a certain value mismatch, communication issues, or poor behavior \u2014 a chance to fix them and get back to their day-to-day roles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setting up a PIP to monitor an employee\u2019s performance is a three-step process: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udcac Step 1: Conversations.<\/strong> Before putting someone on a PIP, team leaders must have had several conversations (1:1s) about the performance issues, so it doesn’t come as a surprise being put on a plan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83e\udd1d Step 2: Bring in People Ops.<\/strong> Next, the team leader brings in the Head of People (me!) to give me the heads up that an employee who is struggling and needs more than just regular support<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83e\uddd1\u200d\ud83e\udd1d\u200d\ud83e\uddd1 Step 3: Assign a PIP buddy. <\/strong>Then, someone in People Ops reaches out to be the team member\u2019s PIP Buddy<\/em>. The PIP Buddy<\/em> is the go-to person for doubts or questions while we try to get the employees\u2019 performance back up. They also support management and the team member by ensuring the root cause of the issue(s) is looked at and action steps are understood and precise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We designed the PIP to have three possible scenarios once it\u2019s done: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Toggl's<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, the PIP we put John on led us to scenario #3. While his expertise was invaluable, it ended up being a concrete barrier that blocked collaboration. The cost of keeping him was too high, and we made the tough decision to part ways with him. While John\u2019s history with us was important, it couldn\u2019t outweigh the need for a supportive and collaborative work environment.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n \n \n \"Top \n Top tip:<\/span>\n <\/span>\n \n

Always ensure that experience and knowledge are balanced with effective communication and collaboration. If feedback doesn\u2019t lead to change and mistakes start impacting the business, it might be time to make a tough decision.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n

Lesson 2. Listen to your team when there are warning signs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hiring for culture fit is always a difficult task, especially when it happens remotely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re not alone in this struggle. 15% of HR leaders<\/a> struggle to integrate remote workers into remote company culture, and 32% of new hires<\/a> will leave in their first three months if they don\u2019t vibe culturally with their new team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting culture fit right is (arguably) more important than any skillset a new hire will bring to a position. And although it\u2019s something we focus on a lot, we still don\u2019t get it right 100% of the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was true for one developer our Engineering team hired a couple of years ago, Mark. While his technical expertise was unparalleled, and during the hiring process, he was just what we were looking for, we knew soon after onboarding there was a problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Mark found bugs the team hadn\u2019t noticed and pointed out inefficiencies confidently, he was also quick to point fingers at others in the Engineering team. His Slack messages were laced with a negative, condescending tone, and he would question the competence of fellow employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the kind of behavior that Amy Gallo from Harvard Business Review describes as a risk to psychological safety<\/a>. She says it\u2019s important for a team to think it\u2019s OK to take risks, express ideas, speak up with questions, and admit mistakes without fear of negative consequences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, Mark\u2019s behavior was having a negative impact on our Engineering team\u2019s psychological safety. It flew up enough warning signs to initiate Toggl\u2019s Red Flag Process<\/a>, which team leaders use to gauge conflicts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The last bullet point \u2014 the impact on our culture \u2014 meant we had to act quickly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The culture we had worked so hard to build \u2014 one of collaboration and healthy debate \u2014was being bulldozed by one person\u2019s need to be right at any cost. Every day, my inbox and Slack DMs were filled with complaints from team members who felt frustrated, demoralized, and angry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Mark even completed his onboarding, we knew we had made a bad hire<\/a> and made the difficult decision to part ways with him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It taught us a valuable lesson. No matter how technically brilliant someone is, if they\u2019re not a good fit for the culture, the cost of keeping them is too high. It\u2019s better to cut your losses early, recognize when something isn\u2019t working, and move on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest lesson of all? Listen \ud83d\udc4fto \ud83d\udc4f your \ud83d\udc4f team \ud83d\udc4f. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n \n \n \"Top \n Top tip:<\/span>\n <\/span>\n \n

Always address difficult behavior directly and make it clear that skills don’t excuse toxicity. If a team member\u2019s behavior doesn\u2019t improve, be prepared to part ways. Maintaining a healthy workplace culture is more important than any individual\u2019s contributions. And remember \u2014 your team’s culture is shaped by what you choose to tolerate.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n

Lesson 3. Create a \u201ctermination\u201d checklist to help leaders navigate the most difficult decision<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In business, firing is usually looked at as a dirty word. As if you\u2019re doing something morally wrong or evil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision to terminate an employee must be grounded in understanding. This involves getting everyone on the same page and agrees the call to take this step is what’s best for the team and overall \u2014 what\u2019s best for the business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just like any other decision managers make, terminations should have a concrete process to follow. At Toggl, we created a termination checklist (which you are free to steal) to help team leads navigate through the process: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83e\udd1d Step 1:<\/strong> Coordinate with People Ops and get legal advice. <\/strong>The team lead’s first port of call is to loop in People Ops and highlight the performance issues with the team member they want to terminate. They must show they have followed company policy and attempted to address the issues through the PIP\/Red Flag process before jumping the gun. Once we give the green light to proceed with the termination, we loop in our legal team to avoid any fallout in case of disagreeable terminations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udcc5 Step 2: Schedule the termination meeting. <\/strong>Team leads must book a face-to-face meeting over video with the team member to break the news. These calls mustn\u2019t be made right before, during, or right after the team member\u2019s vacation or leave period. Be empathetic and make it fair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udcde Step 3: Prepare for the call. <\/strong>Focus on facts, not emotions, during the termination process. If a team lead is struggling with this, People Ops helps them prepare for the call and can even join in to help them deliver the news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Toggl's<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udde3\ufe0f Step 4: Inform the rest of your team ASAP. <\/strong>Terminations are made between People Ops and team leads, so the rest of the department won\u2019t know what\u2019s going on. It\u2019s important for team members to be told as soon as the call is made and given room to ask any questions about what happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final piece of our process is to draft a termination announcement to be shared in the main Slack channel. There are a few areas to cover here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Tone and wording<\/strong>. Avoid using harsh formal words like “voluntary\/involuntary,\u201d \u201cfire,\u201d or “terminate,\u201d and use “leave” or “part ways” instead. Remember, the rest of the team won\u2019t know about the decision until it’s posted in the Slack channel, so it needs to be gentle. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Provide context.<\/strong> Without sharing personal details that might put the leaving employee in an awkward position, instead explain the reasons related to their job role<\/em> about why the company is parting ways with them. Add in any important details like the team member’s last day and any other relevant information.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Highlight the positives<\/strong>. Sometimes, the team members we part ways with have been with Toggl for years. Employees have genuine bonds with them, so we always take a moment to appreciate the good things the team member brought to the company. A big thank you for their time and efforts will encourage the rest of the team to share happy stories about working with them. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Be respectful<\/strong>. Finally, stay on the high road. Keep everything in the announcement professional and avoid negative comments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    If you decide to steal our process above, make sure there aren\u2019t any lingering questions from team members. As long as everyone is aligned and happy to move forward, reach out to the Talent Acquisition team to get the vacancy filled as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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