Human Resources Blog - Spark Hire

How to Tell When It’s Time to Let An Employee Go

How to Tell When It’s Time to Let An Employee GoParting ways with an employee is never pleasant, even for the most experienced managers. However, doing so is necessary in order to keep your company productive. If you’re on the fence about whether it’s time to let go of a member of your team, ask yourself these questions:

What’s their attitude like?

One bad attitude within your organization can be poisonous to the whole company. If you let an employee with a negative outlook stay for too long, you risk having them drag other team members down with them. If you’re constantly hearing snarky comments from this individual, it may be time to consider parting ways.

How is their follow-through?

Are they constantly missing deadlines? Do they forget to handle assignments that they promised they’d cover? If your employee is regularly dropping the ball, they’re becoming detrimental to the business as a whole. It’s time to move on.

Do you feel comfortable with them?

If you can’t trust your employee, it’s definitely time to let them go. If you’re not certain about a team member’s motives or feelings towards their job, you’ll have a hard time treating them just like any other employee.

How do they spend their time?

Sure they look busy, but you’re not totally convinced that they’re actually working during the day. If their productivity just isn’t where it needs to be and constant reminders about staying on task aren’t working, let that individual go. You need everyone in the office to pull their own weight.

Are they content with the status quo?

Everyone in your office should be focused on making your company better, particularly if you’re running a new or small business. If one person seems perfectly happy to keep things the way they are, you may want to consider their importance within the organization. Truly valuable employees are constantly coming up with new ideas and ways to improve the business.

As a manager, how do you determine when it’s time to part ways with an employee? Share with us in the comments!

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Lauren Levine

Lauren Levine is a copywriter/blogger who contributes to a number of magazines and websites including The Frisky, USA Today, and others. She also authors her own blog called Life with Lauren. She loves cooking, anything on the E! network, and is trying to convince herself that running isn't so bad.