This case study is based on the situation of a client of the Covenant Group. Names and details have been changed to preserve privacy.



The urgency in Kerry’s voice gave me notice that his request to drop by the office later that day was important enough to shuffle my schedule to accommodate him. We normally had a very enjoyable telephone conversation every month or so, but this unexpected call had a humourless and insistent tone to it.

“What’s up, Kerry?” I asked as soon as he had seated himself. “I sensed that you weren’t free to speak on the telephone — there is obviously something unusual going on in your world. I hope it isn’t too serious.”

“It is serious,” he replied. “I have decided I have to fire my assistant, Martha. I need to do it right away but wanted to talk to you to make sure I am doing the right thing.”

“Whoa, that’s quite a surprise,” I exclaimed. “I know Martha hasn’t been with you that long — what, about a year now? — but I thought you were pretty keen on her. You spent a lot of time looking for someone to take on that role and she seemed to stand out above all the other candidates.”

“Yes, she did,” Kerry responded, “and we have worked together for about 14 months. Over the past six months or so, however, she simply has not been performing her job satisfactorily. It’s as if she has lost interest. She often shows up late, doesn’t take initiative, is careless and makes too many mistakes.

“And I have had a few clients comment on her off-putting attitude and poor behaviour. This morning, one of my largest clients came in to tell me that he was moving his account to another firm as a result of the way she treated him. He gave me a pretty long list of his negative experiences with her over the past couple of months, which have him convinced she has little respect for him or any client.

“This client has been a great source of referrals to me so I am not only losing his account, but also future recommendations. I also think some of the other large accounts that came as a result of introductions from him could well be at risk if he tells his story to too many people or if those people have similar experiences. They are all part of the same network and are bound to talk to each other.”

“That’s very serious, Kerry,” I said. “But my experience is that a situation like this seldom comes about overnight. Have you had similar incidents previously and, if so, have you spoken to Martha about them?”

“Yes, on both counts,” he answered. “We have had several conversations and, during the last one, I told her that her attitude had to change and her work had to improve or we would seriously have to reconsider her suitability for the job. I even probed to see if there was something going on in her personal life that was affecting her ability to work. She insisted there wasn’t and said she would ‘do better.’ But the truth is she has not.

“I have concluded she is simply a mismatch for the job. As you know, our business can be pretty demanding at times, with client demands, onerous compliance requirements, service issues with suppliers and head office, and so on. It takes someone who is willing to work patiently through those things to be effective,” said Kerry.

“I used to do all that myself but, as you pointed out in your workshops, I wasn’t optimizing the use of my personal time and talent,” he continued. “That’s why I hired someone to do those things, so I could focus on what I do best: building client relationships. But there is no point in me building them up to have someone else tear them down!”

“It sounds to me, Kerry, like your mind is made up,” I said, “and knowing you the way I do, I am pretty confident you have done what you could to counsel Martha and work things out. Some relationships, unfortunately, cannot be repaired or the effort required is not justified. Have you had thoughts about firing Martha previously?”

@page_break@“Yes, I have — a couple of times — and each time, I hoped things would get better. But they only seemed to have gotten worse,” Kerry replied. “Now I regret that I didn’t act sooner.”

“That’s not surprising,” I offered. “I recall attending a conference many years ago as a new manager in this industry. The question was asked: ‘When should you fire someone?’ There were lots of qualifying opinions from the audience, but the one that still sticks in my mind came from a well-seasoned manager who said, ‘The very first time you think about it, because it is inevitable that you eventually will.’

“That seemed harsh to me at the time, but I have since seen the truth of that advice often enough to accept that, in many cases, it is correct.”

“I have never had to fire anyone before,” Kerry said, “but I have heard enough horror stories that I am somewhat anxious about the whole process. Is there some protocol to follow to avoid problems?”

“Yes, there are a few ‘rules’,” I answered. “But the first thing to note is that, as an employer, you are perfectly within your rights to terminate an employee for unsatisfactory performance. That can be cause enough, provided you can support your decision. I am hoping you followed up your previous discussions with Martha with some sort of written notification of her failure to meet the job requirements.”

“That’s a habit I have from my work with clients,” said Kerry. “I always send them a note summarizing our conversation — so I did the same each time with Martha. I was very specific about the errors she had made and the complaints I had received. She replied with her ‘I’ll do better’ comments, so there is no doubt she knows her performance has fallen short more than once.”

“Good for you for handling it that way,” I responded. “The other thing I’d like to congratulate you on is not storming out of your office when your big client pulled his account to confront Martha and fire her on the spot.

“Although I suspect you were tempted, firing someone when you are angry is one way to invite trouble. Taking your time allows you to investigate fully, gather your evidence and objectively weigh the pros and cons of termination. Similarly, others in the office would no doubt have heard everything and Martha would have lost all dignity. Despite everything, no one deserves that. So, always conduct discussions around termination in private,” I said. “The other advantage to waiting is that it allows you to ‘script’ what you are going to say.

“You don’t have to follow your script word for word, but writing down your key points and keeping to them enables you to say everything you want to say professionally.

“It also reduces the risk of being drawn into a debate about your decision. Focus on job issues — not on personalities or character.

“Firing someone can be very emotional,” I added, “and many planned terminations have been aborted at the last minute or partway through the meeting because emotions overcame the facts.”

I suggested Kerry prepare an “exit checklist.” Assuming the termination is to be effective immediately, which is normally best for all involved, this list would deal with matters such as company-owned property, access to information, security and the like.

And he should have a termination agreement. Of obvious importance will be the details of any compensation and temporary continuation of employee benefits. Having a termination agreement in writing for the employee to take away will ease the strain because he or she won’t have to try to assess its fairness on the spot, in the midst of the emotions of the event, I explained.

“That sounds like a lot to get together in a short period of time. I assume I should do this as quickly as I can?” asked Kerry.

“Delaying too long certainly reduces the connection between the triggering behaviour and your decision,” I said. “However, it is better to be prepared than hasty. There are no hard and fast rules, such as what time or day of the week to fire someone, so do it as soon as you are ready. “

I also encouraged Kerry to have someone else present to avoid any future claim that he acted inappropriately at any time.

“I am not sure which is worse — being fired or the one doing the firing,” Kerry said.

“It isn’t easy for anyone,” I answered. “Just be prepared and be professional. You will feel the relief later.” IE



George Hartman is a coach and
facilitator with the Covenant Group in Toronto. He can be reached at george@covenantgroup.com.