It’s the moment most financial advisors dread: an assistant is not performing up to par and there are big questions about his or her potential for improvement. Dismissing that employee has crossed your mind more than once.

“It is very traumatic to have to fire somebody,” says Marc Lamontagne, an advisor and principal with Ryan Lamontagne Inc., a fee-for-service financial planning firm in Ottawa.

Unless you have the skills of the über-composed hatchetman played by George Clooney in the movie Up in the Air, terminating employees is not something that comes naturally to anyone.

“People avoid conflicts at all costs,” says Jacque Small, founder and principal of Catalyst Business Coaching in Delta, B.C.

Avoidance makes for a civilized society overall, but avoiding the task of confronting a significant business problem doesn’t cut it in the corporate world.

However, there are steps you can take to make the process of dealing with a less than satisfactory employee go as smoothly and professionally as possible.

Before you make the decision about termination, be sure you have provided your employee every opportunity for improvement. There is, after all, a learning curve for any new position.

If you have done your job as a manager, you have outlined your expectations to the employee from the start. If the employee has failed to meet those expectations, Small adds, it’s your responsibility to communicate that shortcoming to the employee.

Small prescribes what she calls a “developmental conversation,” in which you sit down with the less than stellar staff member and ask how he or she might best improve his or her performance.

You should also ask whether he or she is actually interested in improving his or her performance.

“If the answer is no,” Small says, “then come up with some mutual agreement about what the employee’s exit will look like.”

That can be the smoothest way to resolve the situation. But if the staff member is keen on trying to improve, your next step is to create a collaborative plan.

Shannon Waller, director of new program development and team program coach at Strategic Coach in Toronto, recommends that you be as specific as possible when resolving the work-related issues that may lead to an employee being fired.

Your expectations should be documented, with a timeline that specifies a date by which the situation must be corrected. Make sure the employee understands the plan for improvement and then signs off on it, Waller says.

Having everything well documented not only helps guide the employee toward improvement, but it also protects you from alle-gations of wrongful dismissal if the situation doesn’t improve and you are forced to cut ties.

“You need a written record because, otherwise, if the employee turns around and sues you,” Lamontagne says, “[his or her] lawyer is going to say you never told them [they could be fired].”

The timeline for improvement should be no more than two weeks, Waller advises. The staff member should be put on probation at the time of the developmental conversation and, if he or she does not perform up to expectations during that two-week period, it would be time to prepare for dismissal.

“There’s no wiggle room,” says Waller. “A lot of people hesitate to make a decision, but there’s a real cost to that indecision.”

Waller admits that she also has fallen into the hesitation trap a few times over the years, and it has never worked out well.

“Not dealing with it does you absolutely no favours,” she says. “It’s better to suck it up, make a decision and take action.”

Allowing more than enough time for the employee to improve is just another form of avoidance, says Lamontagne, who admits to having made this mistake on at least two occasions.
@page_break@Acknowledging that the scale has been tipped and that there’s no turning back isn’t easy. No one likes to be the bad guy.

But, Small points out, you may ultimately be doing the staff member a favour by cutting him or her loose if the fit isn’t right.

Assuming that dismissing your employee is the best option for your business, here are some pointers to consider.

> Get Human Resources/Legal Help

If you work in a larger company, talk to someone in human resources about the firm’s firing policies, Waller advises.

If, on the other hand, you are essentially your own human resources person, you will need to hire a lawyer to draw up the paperwork and make sure the dismissal follows provincial termination laws.

> Create A Plan

Choose a time for the dismissal meeting that makes the most sense. Firing someone in the morning, for instance, is usually a bad idea because it leaves the rest of the day for team members to chatter about the firing. Some HR specialists advise against firing on a Monday for the same reason.

Whether you ask the person to work through their final days or leave immediately will depend on the amicability of the relationship, the company’s policies and your own feelings regarding client confidentiality.

If you will be asking the employee to leave immediately, Waller advises, wait until the end of the day to deliver the news. That way, the commotion of packing up will be less obvious.

Waller also recommends a “tag team” approach, in which the employee’s superior delivers the news and another staff member is on hand to help pack up essential items and make sure the terminated employee is safely accompanied out of the office.

You should make arrangements for transportation ahead of time to ensure the fired person, who may be in an emotional state, is safe.

> Be Direct

A termination meeting is no place for small talk. Starting the meeting with chit-chat about weekend plans will only create confusion.

Relationship-breakup lines — such as “It’s not you; it’s me” or “We’ve grown apart” — can be useful, Waller says, because these statements represent final decisions that leave no room for debate. The last thing you want in this situation is for the employee to start arguing his or her case.

> Use Neutral Language

Avoid saying anything that could be perceived as a personal attack, Small says, because the fired person might then become defensive.

Rather than saying, “You’re fired,” Small suggests, use such terms as “This is not working for me” or “We have to bring this relationship to a close.”

Waller recommends writing yourself a script beforehand and sticking to it as much as possible during the interview.

And don’t fret too much over the quality of the script, she adds: “People don’t hear a lot more than ‘This will be your last day.’ The rest is white noise.”

> Be Sensitive

People react to being fired in different ways. Some go into shock and barely say a word; others get emotional and cry or get angry. It’s important that you remain grounded during these conversations so that you don’t become emotional yourself. Small recommends using breathing exercises to help you relax before delivering the news.

Remember that it’s difficult for anyone to keep their composure when they’ve been fired. Having everything prepared so that they can leave with some dignity is critical.

Let other team members know about the dismissal, Small says, in a way that avoids adding any grist to the gossip mill. A brief email letting the staff know about the termination, emphasizing that it was a mutually agreed-upon decision, is usually enough. Sharing too much information about the termination with staff can erode trust.

“There’s no need for staff to know the whys and wherefores,” Small says. “As the boss, you always take the high road.”

IE