When your boss tells you to terminate an employee

Dear Bob …

A few months ago I became the manager of our IT group, and inherited a long-term employee with stunningly inadequate performance. I have worked with him to set clear performance standards, which are now being achieved.

Two weeks ago, my manager asked me to fire him on the basis that his long term substandard performance had destroyed all confidence in him (and by inference, our entire department, now including me), and other managers do not want to deal with him or have him handling their requests. I declined on the basis that his performance is currently satisfactory and he should be judged on that basis.

My manager has now ordered me to go ahead and fire him, because even with his improved performance, there’s nothing he could ever do to regain the confidence of our users. We are in an at-will employment state, and this employee could be easily and quickly replaced.

My immediate reaction is to refuse to obey the order – this employee reports to me, and I’m rightly the one to judge his performance and fitness. He’s doing the quality of work that he’s been told is required, and that’s all anyone needs to know.

But, the costs of disobedience of this directive would include losing on several other initiatives that are more important to me and to the company. I’m not willing to sacrifice my political capital, perhaps my job, and my plans for making this company better to save the job of someone who intentionally goofed off for years.

Conversely, firing him after he corrected his performance issues will let the rest of the department know that satisfactory performance isn’t enough, and that there are times when I do not take a stand on a matter of principle. It would also let the employee know that nothing I’ve told him for these months mattered in the end. Either course of action would have good and bad impacts on my relationship to the rest of senior management.

What should I do?

– On the horns

Dear Impaled …

Tough situation. I don’t see any great answers, and I agree with your analysis of the situation.

Which is to say, you do have to fire the employee. The question is how you go about it so that you don’t destroy your credibility with everyone else in your department.

One possibility is to tell your boss to fire the guy. I don’t love it. He reports to you. It is your job. I do think it’s important for you to let your manager know the impact you expect this to have. If your manager thinks the firing is worth the downsides, that takes you to the next possibility, which is …

Standing on your principles. The question is, what principle? From what you’ve told me, the employee, with close supervision and clearly defined performance standards, has made it all the way to adequate. Factor in the extra time you’ve had to invest, and will continue to have to invest, and the employee probably continues to contribute a level of productivity that nets in the negative numbers. This isn’t a good investment.

I’d say the important issues are: (1) How you explain the termination in a way that doesn’t make you appear to be a promise-breaker; (2) how you deal with staff reaction to the firing; and (3) how you live with yourself afterward. In order:

When you fire this employee, explain that what you were trying to do was to provide an opportunity for a fresh start. What you failed to recognize was his entrenched reputation with the end-user community.

Tell him you both should have recognized that achieving satisfactory performance wouldn’t be enough. Given his history, both of you should have known

that he had to start performing strongly enough that key end-users

would start to see him as one of your strongest contributors. Bad

reputations are hard to fix; that’s what it takes. It’s something he

should keep in mind in his next position.

If he complains that you’re going back on your word, or asks if you agree with “the company’s” decision, make this clear: Your mistake was failing to require superior performance. His mistake was goofing off on the job. You have to deal with the situation as it is, which is that he isn’t an effective employee, even having achieved satisfactory performance.

You should ask the soon-to-be-former employee what he’d prefer you to say about his departure, as you have no desire to embarrass him. Whatever it is, that’s what you tell his co-workers, and that’s what he should tell them as well.

One other point about the termination conversation: When you tell the employee he’s being terminated, tell him “the company” has

decided that this is what has to be done. Don’t identify yourself as

the decision-maker; don’t identify your manager, either. The company

has made the decision and as his manager, your job is to make sure the

company handles the termination properly. (To that end: Consult with HR

first to make sure you do it by the numbers.)

Changes are, he’ll still grouse about how badly you treated him to his friends, assuming he has any. Don’t worry about it. The fact is, few employees really like slackers – they have to work extra to handle the work that isn’t getting done. And if anyone asks you directly, repeat what the two of you agreed to say and leave it at that.

One more thing: When hiring his replacement, take whatever time and care are necessary to hire a strong performer. Nothing will justify your decision more than the contrast.

How you live with this is easy: You received a direct, and really a quite reasonable order from your manager. Nobody ever promised you that you’d agree with everything you’re instructed to do.

– Bob

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