Quick firing without legal issues?
All the leadership books I have read lately speak about wrong people, right seats. Get rid of the wrong people fast. This is great in theory, but how do you tackle this without running the risk of bad Indeed reviews or even worse - false wrongful termination claims?
If conversations around poor performance or lack of catching on after training are recorded, but no write-ups or PIPs have been given, would you still proceed with termination? Or is it better to follow the disciplinary steps even if you know they aren't going to be successful in the end and you are wasting time?
(Please note I work in an at-will employment state.)
I'd appreciate anyone's feedback on this. - Kelsey
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If you're mostly concerned about new hires that aren't the right fit, take a look at hiring practices to improve quality of hire. You could also see if you could improve practices around documenting feedback in the first 90 days or so. If you have a particular situation where someone is a poor performer with no documentation, you need to weigh the pros and cons of firing without a documented disciplinary process. I'll also challenge your assumption they won't be successful in the end. Walking through the process with sincerity will give them an opportunity to change and you can rest easy knowing you did what you could to give them a chance to succeed.
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It's always best to create a paper trail. It's a good exercise for your supervising employees to clarify what the performance issue is. This will also help you determine skills needed for the next person you hire for that position.
