Why would you not fire him?

Real questions to ask yourself before firing your employee

In a company that I used to work in, half of the people were lazy, and the other half didn't meet expectations. So did they fire everyone? Of course not.

Before firing anyone, I ask my team these questions:

1. Can this person try to do something else for me that I am willing to pay for if he succeeds?
2. What is the potential maximum damage he will cause me if he leaves?
3. And one more pretty standard: was he given sufficient time (i.e. 1 month) and clear instructions (SOP) to improve?

If you ignore for a second your original expectation from the employee, maybe you will find much more than you expected.

For example, we hired a person who is a 70-year-old plumber. At this age, he could not do much. But with 50 years of experience, he might be handy. So we put him in charge of the warehouse and supply. That didn't fit the expectations of many. At this point, many would fire him. 'Pretty useless' - they say. However, it would be a shame not to try something else. So, I took him under my wing and asked him to make a couple of cold calls. Oh, and how he shined! With the back office armed by AI and professionals at the front, we reached some of the most valuable leads. In a future post, I will say how much he brought to the company. However, at this moment, it is a great joy to see people's hidden talents be used for much more than we originally expected.

Big companies don't work like this, so don't be stuck in the same mentality as big companies.

Stick around - there is more to come.

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