Firing well

Firing is the hardest skill in management, and the one managers avoid longest. Every manager I know has a story about someone they should have let go 6 months earlier. Each delay costs the company real money, the team morale, and, perversely, the person being kept around, who misses the chance to find a better fit.

Why firing is worth doing well

• Team performance. Tolerating low performance pulls the team down. Your A-players notice. They leave.
• Culture. Culture is what you tolerate. Tolerating the wrong behaviors teaches them.
• The person. Keeping someone in a role they're failing at is cruel, not kind. A clean exit is often a relief + a career unlock.
• Legal exposure. Undocumented performance + surprise terminations = lawsuits. Documented + fair = safer.

Types of termination

1. Performance-based

Someone isn't hitting their scorecard. Performance improvement plan (PIP) either turns it around or leads to separation.

2. Conduct-based

Someone violated policy, ethics, or safety. Often immediate termination for severe cases; progressive discipline for minor.

3. Layoff / restructuring

No performance issue, the role no longer exists or the business needs change. Fundamentally different from the above.

4. Role mismatch / mutual

Neither pure performance nor pure role change, the person was a B+ at the role but a D at the role the role became. Often resolved by moving the person to a different role or amicable exit.

The progressive framework (performance cases)

Stage 1: Direct feedback

Specific, timely, clear. "In your last 3 weeks, I've seen X, Y, Z. I need Q, R, S. What's getting in the way?" Give them 30-90 days to turn it around. No written plan yet.

Stage 2: Formal performance improvement plan (PIP)

If stage 1 doesn't produce change. Written plan:

• Specific performance expectations (measurable, tied to scorecard)
• Timeline (typically 30-90 days)
• Support the manager will provide
• Consequences of not meeting expectations (termination)

PIPs are signed by both parties. HR is looped in. Weekly check-ins during the PIP.

Stage 3: Decision point

At PIP end, clear outcome:

• Performance has improved → close PIP, continue employment
• Partially improved, trajectory positive → extend PIP (rarely, usually delaying the inevitable)
• No improvement → termination

The termination conversation

Timing

• Day: usually Tuesday-Thursday (not Monday, ruins their week; not Friday, leaves them alone all weekend)
• Time: morning or early afternoon
• Duration: 15-20 min
• Private space
• Manager + HR (or second person if you're the HR function)

The conversation itself

• Open: "I have hard news. Your employment with [company] is ending today."
• Brief reasoning (not debate): "As we discussed in the PIP, [outcome] wasn't met. We've decided to end the employment."
• Logistics: last day, severance, benefits, return of equipment, references policy
• Pause for their response, listen, don't argue
• Don't apologize or over-explain
• Don't negotiate (if they push back)
• Wrap: "I'm sorry it didn't work out. I wish you the best."

What NOT to say

• "This is harder for me than for you." (No it isn't.)
• "If you'd just done X…" (Rehashing.)
• "Between you and me…" (Don't share private info about others.)
• "We had to, corporate said." (Take ownership.)
• "You'll thank me someday." (Maybe, but not now.)

Severance

Offer severance whenever possible, not legally required in most US states, but ethically + strategically sound.

• Typical: 2 weeks per year of tenure, minimum 2 weeks, often capped
• Plus: health coverage extension (COBRA subsidy or similar)
• Plus: paid time to job-search

In exchange: a release of claims (signed by the employee, waiving right to sue). Standard. Have a lawyer template.

Communication to the team

Within 1-2 business days.

• Short, respectful
• Don't share details ("why" stays private)
• Clear about how work transitions
• Don't disparage
• Acknowledge team will have reactions; make space for them

The announcement template

"I wanted to let you know that [Name] has left the company. [He/she] wasn't the right fit for the role we needed [him/her] to play, and after working through this together, we've made the decision to part ways. [His/her] last day was [date]. [Person X] will take on [responsibilities] in the interim; we'll update you on longer-term plans soon. Please direct any questions to me directly."

Common mistakes

• Firing without documented feedback. Legal risk + unfair to the person.
• Firing via Slack or email. Never.
• Walking around the company to announce before telling the person. Devastating if they hear from a peer.
• Letting them find out via access revocation. Don't revoke until the conversation has happened.
• Taking it back. Once it's decided, do it. Pulling back teaches everyone the process isn't real.

Firing with integrity

The test: if they're telling the story of their departure in a year, is it a story they'd tell without bitterness? Were they treated fairly, with clarity + dignity?

Firing well doesn't mean the person leaves happy. It means they leave able to say "that was handled right."

What most managers learn after firing well for the first time

• The team's productivity goes up, noticeably
• Other team members relax, because they see the standard is real
• The fired person often lands somewhere that suits them better
• You realize you should have done it 6 months earlier

That last point is the one that every veteran manager agrees on.