subject: Firing For Underperformance [print this page] Bad employees fire themselvesBad employees fire themselves. They do not walk up to the manager and say, "I'm fired" (that would be awkward), but they clearly do not meet the standards they are supposed to meet.
On another note, they can only 'clearly' miss these standards if they were given clear standards to begin with. Consider the case of Bobby:Bobby is a waiter at a diner. Bobby has been working at the diner for about one month now. He has missed two days of work (his grandmother was sick) and came in late once or twice. He is sort of familiar with the menu items, but still makes mistakes when calling in the order to the cooks and when ringing up the customer's bill. He often stands around, takes smoke breaks while other staff members wipe down counters or clean dishes.He means well, but gets embarrassed when he makes a mistake and starts laughing. When a co-worker tries to explain something to him, he acts as if he already knew.Bobby has reached a point where he does not seem to improve. His present performance is not good enough for the job. The manager has already had two counseling sessions with Bobby and gave him chances to improve. The manager noted these sessions in a performance log which is standard procedure at the diner.Bobby is doing the best he can and thinks his job performance is satisfactory after all.How should the manager handle his situation? Fire him on the spot? Bobby would be terribly embarrassed and absolutely not expect that. After talking things over with his family and friends (and telling them how diligently he works every day), he might try to receive unemployment benefits or sue the company (for illegal discrimination or wrongful termination).Provide more training? Bobby probably would not benefit from having to study the menu over and over again, and from re-learning the correct procedures. He already went through onboarding training and co-workers have continued to kindly offer their help. This job does not seem to be a good fit for him and additional training would waste everyone's time.This is how Bobby got fired: The manager sat down with Bobby and explained once again what was expected of him. For example, "You have to complete your cleaning duties before the end of each shift - here is a list." "You cannot miss a day of work unless you have a written doctor's excuse." [...]"If you do not satisfy any of these requirements, your employment with us will be terminated. " Bobby had to sign a piece of paper: I understand that failure to adhere to any of the rules outlined above will result in the immediate termination of my employment.The manager logged this conversation in the restaurant's performance log.Two days later, Bobby failed to show up for work. He had fired himself. Firing For UnderperformanceBy: Lea Dehne
