25Founders: How Do You Know When It’s Time to Fire an Employee?

Continuing our 25Founders series, a collective of leading New York entrepreneurs, members in this month’s NY Enterprise Report magazine talk about when it’s time to let an employee go. When asked “how do you know when it’s time to fire an employee?” Edward Solomon, Net at Work co-founder commented:

Letting an underperformer go is one of the most challenging jobs of a manager or a business owner. At Net at Work, we set up annual goals for each employee and then have both a formal and an informal employee review process. In addition, our chief people officer and managers spend time to work individually with employees who are struggling to achieve their goals. If performance still does not improve, then we meet with the employee and let them know that they are being terminated.

As a manager, you were probably the one that hired this person and it is easy to fall into the trap of becoming a cheerleader for the employee and hoping that they turn things around. It is important to remember that you are not helping someone that is in the wrong job and struggling to be successful if you delay the inevitable and let them stick around. They would be better off if you paid them for a couple of extra months after you let them go, so that they can focus their efforts on finding the right job.

Visit the New York Enterprise Report for answers by other top NY Entrepreneurs and 25Founders members.