When you’re leading a business, it’s inevitable that you’ll eventually encounter an employee that just doesn’t fit at your company. They might have a bad attitude or simply be incompetent when it comes to getting their work done. It can be difficult to make the decision to fire someone; it’s never a pleasant situation. While you letting someone go is hard, as a business leader it’s something you’ll need to do from time to time. It’s important that anyone in charge of a company can recognize when an employee isn’t working out and is then prepared to let them go in order to make room for someone who can actually further the company’s mission.
They don’t know what they’re doing
There have been plenty of times when someone seems like the perfect fit during an interview, but once they go through training and start working, it’s clear they don’t know what they’re doing. Sometimes, this issue can be fixed. However, it’s detrimental to the company to have to put an employee through multiple rounds of training and some skills are integral to the job that cannot be easily taught during light training sessions. If someone’s work is consistently below standards and you’ve already spoken to them about it, it might be time to let them go.
Other employees complain
This sign should be taken with a grain of salt; you need to evaluate other employees’ concerns to see if they’re valid and make sure there’s not an ulterior motive to complaining about a coworker. But if multiple employees have some to you to express similar and valid concerns about a coworker, it’s worth looking into and determining if that person should be fired.
They have a bad attitude
Nothing ruins company culture like a few employees who constantly complain and never offer anything positive. No one likes to be around constant negativity and it’ll often impact the way employees view the company, their superiors, and affect their productivity. If an employee is constantly disrespectful and negative, they should work somewhere else.
They’re unreliable
If one of your employees is constantly showing up to work late or calling off sick at the last minute, they aren’t reliable. If you ask them to get something done and then have to ask three more times before they do it, it’s a bad sign. If you can’t rely on an employee to be in the office and get work done, they don’t fit in at your business.
They aren’t professional
A major red flag and grounds for instant termination is an unprofessional employee. If you have someone who says inappropriate comments to coworkers or clearly displays discriminatory views, they don’t belong at the company. You need to let go anyone who contributes to a hostile work environment and doesn’t respect the people they work with.
It’s important to keep in mind that many employees could have some of these characteristics, but will change them if spoken to by a superior. Many people do not realize how they’re presenting themselves until someone mentions it to them. If they take to heart the criticism and change their behavior, go ahead and keep them as employees. However, if you’ve spoke to an employee about his behavior and attitude and he didn’t work to correct it; let him go. Then, in the future, carefully interview employees before bringing them into the company so you can avoid future messy situations.