Small business owners as well as team managers often struggle with the question of when they should say goodbye to an employee whose performance they are not satisfied with for a reason and when to give him or her another opportunity. On the one hand, we should count with the fact that everybody makes mistakes. On the other hand, however, we should also count with the fact that the company needs to invest its resources effectively and that it has only one reputation.
Every manager has to decide himself and consider as many factors affecting the specific situation as possible. Nevertheless, the Easy Small Business HR website - based on the experience of small business owners - recommends the following ways of decisioning.
When to say goodbye
It is a clear signal for dismissal when you have already discussed your dissatisfaction with an employee, but he or she still behaves the same way. Document the behavior to show him or her clear evidence.
An absence without excuse is another clear case. Many small companies or teams are working flexibly without any fixed working hours. The employees should, however, definitely not abuse it and they should not let their superiors wondering about where they are.
Whether it's the explanation of the reason of an absence or communication about anything else, you should not tolerate liars in your team. Do not cooperate with people you cannot trust.
When to give a second chance
Everyone may lose energy at work and his or her usual performance may start to deteriorate. However, this does not have to be a reason to be fired. First try to talk with such an employee and agree on ways to help each other.
Unprofessional behavior does not have to be a reason for dismissal either. Especially a young person may fall short in dressing professionally or communicating with colleagues. This can, however, be learned quickly. It would be worse when the employee's consciously bad attitude is the cause of the unprofessional behavior.
Last but not least, try not to judge an employee for making one big mistake. At first sight, you may consider losing a big client or deleting important data from the corporate database as a sufficient reason for dismissal. However, try to think about how the employee will behave when you give him another chance. You will most often be surprised how hard he or she will try.
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