It is tough as a manager or as an employee to decide to fire an employee that works for you, the company you work for, and/or a company you do business with.
Sure, you can always figure out a reason to not fire but in most situations, if the thought passed your mind, it is probably the right decision.
I have been in this position during my military and civilian careers and I want to again state that if you have thought it, firing is probably the right decision.
In the military, it was extremely difficult to fire someone even when you had the proper documentation and historical issues.
During my time in the military, one situation is still painful since I tried to get the sailor removed from submarine service and was unsuccessful.
- The reason why the sailor needed to be fired from submarine duty was mental instability. Mental health experts nixed my request and sadly, the kid committed suicide a few months after he was stationed on a submarine.
While in the military, there were many situations where personnel needed to be fired and may or not have been for many reasons.
- The primary reason personnel was not fired was that the goal fleet size was 500 ships, so all sailors were critical.
- Firing sailors normally involved transferring an individual from an operational vessel to a vessel in the shipyards of similar.
- Some sailors were fired but if they were it was normally due to drugs, alternate lifestyles, or similar situations.
Late in my military career, it became much easier to fire people when the Navy was being downsized after the end of the cold war but that is not to say the best people were maintained.
Twenty (20) plus years ago I joined the civilian workforce after retiring from Navy and I quickly learned it was just as difficult to fire someone on the outside as in the military. I also learned that you could fire the company you worked for an experienced customer/vendor firing.
- My first civilian job was a computer monitor repair facility In South Dakota whose primary customer was Gateway Computers. I worked as the assistant plant manager and quickly realized that it was difficult to terminate crackheads that damaged thousands of dollars of inventory so after six (6) months decided to fire the company.
- I next worked for an international sales and service company as a remote technician in Iowa and once again it became clear that firing technicians that did not want to work were nearly impossible. Later I was advanced to a district management position and the management team goal was to overwork those that worked and live with those that did not work After Y2K, I fired this company.
- For the next sixteen (16) plus years, I worked for a sales and service company that had a goal to cover the entire US market. I started my career as a technician and ended it as the Senior Vice President Of Operations. We did a pretty good job of keeping our workforce cleaned up through firing and hiring until the company was placed on the market for sale in 2014. We were purchased in 2015 and challenges with new ownership and lack of scruples resulted in my firing them in early 2016.
- In 2016, I started consulting for businesses and worked short term W2 jobs trying to find the right place for my third long-term career. I have fired several customers, vendors, employers, and employees during this timeframe and I still believe sometimes you need to say, “Your Fired”.
Saying “Your Fired” should be a two-way street between employers and employees much like between customers and businesses.
- Perhaps that sounds harsh, but I have realized since leaving my second-long term career in 2016 is that if the relationship is not right in the first three (3) months, staying longer is not a recipe for success.
- Furthermore, there have been many situations where I have run into individuals I have had to let go for various reasons and they thanked me because it helped them find a career that fits better.
Please leave comments and thoughts regarding this subject and specifically what are your thoughts on the following questions.
- Have you ever fired an employer and was it best for you and the employer?
- Have you ever been fired as an employee and was it best for you and the employer?
Appreciate your visiting my blog and wish you health, safety, and success. It is great being fifty plus going on fifteen.
Jay Patterson