Read Me and Discover When You Need to Exit a Deadwood Employee Pronto

5 HR Essentials Blog Series cont.Last week we talked about Pesky HR Costs. We ended a handy checklist of 7 HR Operating Budget Line Items to help you turn these Pesky HR Costs in to HR Value Add-Ins for your business.Let’s continue with our tour of the haunted house of HR Horrors. This week we will explore the next HR bear trap you need to be mindful of – when you need to exit (fire) a deadwood employee pronto.You can read this post as a stand-alone piece. Or you can max out on value by quickly skipping back to the first 2 posts in this 5 part series. Part 1, here and part 2, here.Come right back, because this week’s installment promises to be a humdinger of a post.

HR Essential #3: Potential HR Bear Trap – When to Fire

Before we start, let’s get a few things straight.The following real-world scenarios will help you identify the critical WHEN you need to fire a deadwood employee.I acknowledge that you may not have employees at this stage of your business growth. Or you may have decided not to hire employees but instead take advantage of the booming gig-economy by engaging the services of freelancers directly or via sites like TaskRabbit or Freelancer.Whilst the working arrangements may be contractually different, knowing when to show your under delivering freelancer or under performing employee the door is critical. The following brainpokes are good places to start for either.Make no mistake; this is serious business. Find qualified experts well versed in the employment laws of the location where you operate. Ensure you engage the services of the best legal counsel you can afford to guide you when firing an employee or any kind of ending of employment relationship.This is absolutely NOT the place to make cost savings or to ‘wing it’. As sure as night follows day, those apparent savings will quickly transform into Horrid Pesky HR Costs.Seek legal advice before not after taking action. Nothing is more frustrating or ruinously costly than doing the right thing in the wrong way.Now, I do understand your discomfort, those wretched feelings and perhaps even inner turmoil. This is a good thing. It is a sign you are (still) human.But this is not the time indulge in the vanity of pride, (misplaced) loyalty and fear.Carrying deadwood will stunt your business’ growth, cause your best employees to psychologically and/or physically abandon ship and leave you vulnerable to emotional, reputational and financial pain. I know this sounds overly dramatic but it’s true.Stop sabotaging your business by carrying the wrong employees. Here are 4 examples of ‘ifs’ and ‘whens’ to take decisive action.1. When an employee is found to have lied about their skills and qualifications. These include:

fictitious, embellished or misleading information.
omission of convictions or licenses being revoked.
inaccuracies in responsibilities and achievements in previous employment.
false claims of professional certifications and academic qualifications.

If proven, this is a breach of trust and confidence between the employer and the employee. Act quickly to exit the offender from your business. Failure to act is a surefire path to major stress for you, your business and the great employees you have or intend to hire.What can you do in this situation?

Withdraw offer of employment, if you have made an offer but the employee hasn't yet started to work.
Cancel the contract.
Dismiss the employee during the probation period.
Fire for gross misconduct.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.Reduce your exposure to risk by being diligent and rigorous in your recruitment process.

Test knowledge and skill with practical assessments and tests.
Don’t take shortcuts with the pre-employment checks. For example; checking with academic institutions if your employee is one of their alumni, employment references, and criminal background checks.

2. If an employee gets “the disease”... Calm down! Don’t panic! I’m not advocating that you break any Disability Discrimination Laws or throw decency and right-mindedness out of the window in the name of your business. I am talking about protecting your business from toxic contamination.“If they ask for more money all the time. If they bad mouth you to other employees. If you even think they are talking behind your back, fire them […]The disease has no cure. And it’s very contagious. Show no mercy. Show the employee the door. There are no second chances because the disease is incurable.” Section BB in James Altucher’s ‘The 100 Rules for Being an Entrepreneur’.Hey, don’t stop at Section BB. Read and absorb the rules – all 100 of them. Your business and your sanity will thank you very much.Still not clear how to identify toxic types? Here are 7 types that could be sapping the energy and sucking your precious business resources dry. Take decisive action.3. When the deadwood is YOU. You are frazzled and stretched to breaking point. Juggling and spinning plates; you are doing everything yourself to save money and resources. BUT you are doing everything badly.There will come a point in your business’ development when you need to bring in talent to focus on doing the things you are not great at or to free you up to do what you are brilliant at doing.If you don’t fire yourself from some of these critical duties and responsibilities weighing you down pronto, you will sabotage your business. Free yourself to lead your business better.4. When an employee can’t handle the fluidity and fast pace of a start-up perform to the required standard.This is a tough one.Your employee might be super experienced with the relevant skills, and an all-round lovely person.They have had your back in the early days, working for free beside you in your basement or garage or around your kitchen table. They may be your friend.I admire your 'loyalty' but ask yourself these questions.

Is your friendship hurting or helping you to achieve your business dreams?
Do they have the right mind-set for a fast moving new business or start-up venture?
Friendship aside, are they willing and able to evolve as you and your business evolves?

Start-ups and openings are like Marmite. You either love it or you hate it! You are either brilliant at it or you suck.If you need a leader to help you launch your business, you had better look for a Transformer – a follow-worthy leader who is adept at leading in extremis.

Why You Need to Fire Fast

Firing an employee, even one who is deadwood, is hard. It is supposed to be.Here are my top tips and reasons why you need to fire fast.

Fire fast but never furiously. Firing in a passion NEVER ends well.

Instead, fire with compassion, class and good legal support.

Exiting a deadwood employee in the right way sends a powerful message of care, respect, business smarts and leadership. Your tribe (community of employees, customers and investors) will thank you for it.

It shows your tribe that you care about the success of your business. After all, if you don't care why should they?

It is a mark of respect to those who positively contribute to fulfilling your business purpose by investing their time, talents and faith in your venture.

It is evidence of leadership when you are willing and able to take tough decisions to safeguard your tribe's livelihood and their money. They may not say thank you; but they will show you their appreciation by sticking with you for the long haul.

Bottom line, exit deadwood employees pronto! You will be a better entrepreneur and human being for it.

Do share this post with someone who you know will find it helpful and valuable.Use these 4 circumstances to help you determine 'if' and 'when' you need to exit a deadwood employee from your business - pronto.Come back next week when I will share with you the next HR Essential on our hit list. Together we will tackle HR Horror #4: Training Terror. How to wrangle the untrained running amok and threatening to cause damage to your business.

Until we meet again next week down the HR Rabbit Hole…