Quint Studer

Do leaders know when is it time to say goodbye to an employee?

Do employees know when is it time to say goodbye to their company?

We all know that employee-company relationships don’t always work out. Sometimes the employee doesn’t live up to that great job interview. And sometimes a good employee doesn’t feel respected or wanted by their company. There are many scenarios in between.

But when is it time for a change? The answer can be unclear. Even in the cases when that moment of truth seems blatantly obvious, few people promptly fire that employee or leave that job.

The vast majority of leaders I’ve spoken with have fired employees, but when I ask them if they ever felt they made the decision to fire too quickly, they look at me quizzically.

We just hang on too long. We hang on to a problem employee. We hang on in a job that offers little career value and even less upward mobility.

Today’s column is for both the hiring managers and employees to help identify telltale signs when a change is needed.

For leaders

Doesn’t it always feel like those that we hang on to the longest are the ones who leave the most bitter because they didn’t realize they could lose their job? Why? Because we didn’t enforce expectations.

The biggest litmus test is this: If you are working harder at an employee’s success than they are, it’s probably time to make a change. Many times, a manager will be exhausted from just coaching, teaching and training an employee. All the while, the employee is just not being responsive or meeting expectations.

Remember, due process is very important. It usually starts with a verbal warning, followed by a written warning. Follow your human resources manual (and if you’re a small business, make sure you have HR policies in place.) After those steps, if you don’t take action, you create a culture where employees think the leader won’t take action. In essence, you become an enabler of behavior you’re trying to stop.

Also remember, your top employees can often identify low-preforming employees before you do. They are paying attention to how you handle these situations, and if they aren’t handled with company values in mind, discontent could spread to the employees you value most.

For example, a store manager has a department that is lagging behind and affecting the financials of the overall business. The supervisor of that struggling department is aware of the pitfall, but there has been little change in behavior or production.

The store manager, obsessed over-correcting the lagging department, comes in on Monday explains to his supervisor how he’s lost sleep over the weekend thinking about his department. What can we do to fix it? What adjustments can we make?

“Why?” the department supervisor asks.

That was the indication that (as long as due process has been followed) it’s likely time to make a change. When a manager is losing sleep over something, and the department supervisor – whose front-line responsibility is this struggling department - has no care, concern or sense of urgency, it’s probably time for them to go.

For employees

I recently met with a person who was frustrated because he wasn’t moving up in his company as he expected. He had the skill set, experience and the performance record to deserve a promotion.

So what’s the issue? He wasn’t sure, but he was hesitant to push the issue with leadership because he feared they would hear something he would not like and he thought his aggressiveness might hurt him in his current job.

I told him I thought a healthy conversation was in order. Go to the boss, tell them your goal is be promotable and be sure to accept any feedback, good or bad. The goal is to lay the groundwork to be seriously considered for a promotion next time.

He had that conversation. However, he heard some ambiguity and it was a bit confusing. Still, he weighed his options. He liked Pensacola, he liked the schools his children were attending and he just didn’t want to move.

Soon after, a promotional-type job opened. He put his name in the running and was put in the final three. He interviewed, but didn’t get the job. He asked why. (Sometimes we don’t get jobs we think we’re ready for, but you can always ask supervisors what you can do to be better prepared for next time).

He was told that they were looking for someone with more experience. Turns out the person they hired for the job had the least experience of the three finalists.

So what’s the message his company was giving? Though they haven’t said it to him, he wasn’t the person they were looking at to promote. It was probably time to take a hard look at other opportunities.

But there was a happy ending: Just this month, he resigned from his current job to take a step up with another company.

If he hadn’t pushed this issue, he could have been stuck waiting and waiting and never pursued other opportunities under the false notion that he was going to be promoted.

(A side note: I’m a huge believer that an organization should post all open positions. Even if you have someone you think should get that job in mind, you’re not living the values of a quality company if you do not openly post it. There may be people interested in the job internally you don’t know about. It also is a great way for employees to show interest, even if they don’t get it, as it leads to a good developmental conversation.)

When it gets obvious that you are being passed over for promotions, there’s a time as an employee when you should be able to figure out that you don’t have the best future there. It doesn’t mean you can’t stay in your job, but you can’t stay there and be a victim. You have to take action. Find out why you aren’t being promoted. Have a game plan that if you aren’t moving up to find another place where you can fit in.

Change is difficult. We all know that. But it’s necessary in business. It’s also necessary to be honest with yourself and accurately identify when it’s time to say goodbye.