Letting Go of Employees Sucks - But I've Found This Helps

I've hired, reviewed, corrected, and fired more people than I would wish in my lifetime.

No matter how you slice it, it's one of the worst parts of leadership.

That said, it is one of the most important parts of leadership—not just for you and your team but also for the person you're letting go.

In today's newsletter, we'll discuss how to assess people issues in your company, and I'll share my system for approaching firing people that is both caring and honoring for all involved.

Why Not Dealing With People Issues Is Your Biggest Issue

People issues come in various shapes and sizes.

Sometimes, it's as simple as objective performance issues.

Other times, it's more complicated as it deals with subjective personality issues.

Regardless, if you're seeing any of the following on your team, you have a people issue:

• Poor work quality/missed deadlines
• Negative attitude/low morale
• Lack of accountability/excuses
• Insubordination/disrespect
• Conflicts with colleagues

And when you have a people issue, you have two choices you can make:

1. Hope it goes away (it won't)
2. or deal with it head-on.

If you choose not to deal with it head-on, you risk losing your best team members, missing goals and deadlines, and spending way too much time resolving tangential people issues.

This issue will grow, and the pain will compound with it.

Instead of crossing your fingers and hoping for the best, you're better off attacking the issue head-on.

Think about it...

You either:

• spend a few uncomfortable hours addressing the issue,
• or spend a few years hoping it goes way.

(oh, and then a few more years cleaning up the mess)

The 30-30-30 Method

After trying a dozen different ways to approach my people issues, I've landed on what I call the 30-30-30 Method.

It's three simple steps to deal with all your people issues—and it's proven to make firing much easier and less painful. 

01 Determining an Issue

I want to believe in the best in people, so before I formally address almost any issue (excluding egregious issues), I first try to establish whether something is a one-off issue or a pattern.

Here's my general rule of thumb for when the same issue reoccurs:

1. First Time: Could be a fluke → Gently correct within 24 hours and move on.
2. Second Time: Not quite a pattern yet → Gently correct within 24 hours and make a private note of when both issues occurred.
3. Third Time: It's a pattern → Jot down the third occurrence. It's time to address the issue formally.

Schedule a meeting with the team member so you can address the issue with them privately.

02 Addressing an Issue

(MEETING #1)

Addressing an issue is straightforward:

• Address the issue and surface the three data points from before.
• Explain "how" the issue affects the team/client and "why" it's important they resolve this issue going forward.
• Ask them if they understand the "how" and "why" and whether they need anything to fix the issue (in some scenarios, it's a resource or training issue).
• Schedule a follow-up meeting with them in 30 days (the first 30) to ensure the issue has been resolved (or get them the resources/training they need, then follow up with them afterward).

(MEETING #2)

Scenario A: Ideally, at this point, the issue has not resurfaced. If that's the case, keep the meeting short, thank them for correcting the issue, and call it a day. 🫶

There is no further need to discuss it (unless it resurfaces).

Scenario B: Should the issue persist:

• Address that the issue is still happening (give specifics)
• Explain "how" the issue affects the team/client and "why" it's important to resolve it.
• Ask them if they understand the "how" and "why" and whether they need anything to fix the issue.
• Schedule a second follow-up meeting with them in 30 days (the second 30) to ensure the issue has been resolved.

(MEETING #3)

Scenario A: Issue is resolved. High-five – move on. 👏

Scenario B: Still in issue? It's time to address it one last time:

• Address ...
• Explain ...
• Ask ...
• Schedule a third follow-up meeting with them in 30 days (the third and final 30) to ensure the issue has been resolved.

03 Terminating an Issue

If the issue has not been resolved by the third meeting, it's clear that the team member is the actual issue, and you can move to terminate them. 

Now, if you've followed the 30-30-30 Method, this is where it makes your job much easier.

95% of the time, the team member already knows what's coming by the time you get to the final meeting (and oftentimes, the employee will voluntarily leave before this meeting happens).

This makes it much easier to dismiss the employee and typically makes the process less volatile and challenging (I get significantly less pushback this way).

30-30-30 Summary

Now that you understand the framework, here is what you can jot down as you go forward to remember this process:

1. Determine → Establish a pattern before addressing formally.
2. Address → Give them 3 opportunities to fix the issue, checking in every 30 days until it is resolved (30-30-30).
3. Terminate → If not resolved by the third check-in, dismiss the employee.

No one likes this aspect of leading and managing, but if you follow this process, you'll feel confident in your decision, knowing you've given your team member every opportunity to resolve the issue.

Plus, the rest of your team will know you're committed to caring for the team and everyone on it. Following this process lets your team know you've given your best shot to help the dismissed employee succeed.

That's good management.

More for your journey next week.