Donald Trump’s reality show is known for two words dreaded words: “You’re fired!” As an aspiring entrepreneur, I remember watching The Apprentice every week trying to glean wisdom. I was hoping I could get all the right words and actions down so firing staff would be easy. After 12 years, I have come to the conclusion that hiring and firing is never easy. Letting staff members go is difficult, especially after investing in them for years. It’s also painful to realize it was a mistake to keep them so long.
Even though firing is not easy, here are three ways to make the process as fair and painless as possible.
- Document – Start documenting at the very beginning of hiring your staff. I use a digital notebook, Evernote, to create a “Staff Profile” on every staff member and document any problems that arise during the year. It allows me to review the concerns over the past year, and it helps me and my partner discern if we are simply frustrated with current situations, or if this has this been a long-term pattern. Document, document, document.
- Communicate – Visit with your staff members regularly to communicate how they are meeting and exceeding expectations, as well as where they are under-performing. Too many optometrists wait to communicate to their staff after they have become so frustrated that they have to do something. This is too late. Begin early by communicating behaviors that are good and those that need improvement. This will create an environment with no surprises. It is much easier to fire someone if they have a good idea it is coming.
- Just do it – NIKE’s long-time slogan is easy to say but hard to do. It finally comes down to scheduling the meeting and walking through letting them go. This part should be as short as the slogan. To keep yourself from getting in trouble, experts say schedule the meeting and keep it short and sweet.
Being the CEO of your company requires you to have big shoulders, and sometimes the weighty job of firing a staff member is required. Do not back down, or your patients will suffer. When a staff member needs to go, take it from Donald Trump and get comfortable with “You’re fired!”
