While "fire" and "terminate" (someone) might bear too much negative emotions, "asking to leave" leans too much on the rosy side. Usually "asking" implies they have a choice, right?
I've fired people and I've been fired. Its excruciating for both sides, and embarrassing for the person being let go. There's very little danger of it being too "rosy."
Fred's further advice of getting right to the point and giving them honest, clear reasons is spot on. He's not advocating for bullshitting the employee; he's advocating for not being a dick when there's no reason for it.
> There's very little danger of it being too "rosy."
I disagree. Using too rosy a term for something that's very bad for the recipient might be perceived as disingenuous or just lacking balls to tell the unpleasant truth.
Agree. I worked at a biotech startup where our CFO had to fire an employee. He went in soft and the fired employee showed up the next day wondering why his fob wouldn't open the door. Theres no need to be cruel, but clarity is key.
>"asking to leave" leans too much on the rosy side. Usually "asking" implies they have a choice, right?
Maybe more of a Hobson's choice.
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave" seems to be the sort of thing said by bartenders/bouncers when you've been cut off and you're demanding that one last beer. Or by a police officer who presents you with the choice of walking out on your own, or or getting arrested.
Meh. How about "we're going to have to part ways" ... stress that the situation can't continue, not that you made some decision. Things are simply untenable and that's that.
It depends on the circumstance. I have a separate post that illustrates that this might not always be the case.
Also keep in mind that there's a difference between what you might say to the employee, and what you subsequently report to others. Fred talks about how you need to be sensitive to how the news affects others on the team. And so you might have a direct conversation with an employee who warrants firing, but you may prefer to tell other employees, investors, or the public that this person was "asked to leave."
I had the exact same thought at the very beginning, until he says this " 2) Be generous - Unless the employee has acted in extreme bad faith or done something terribly wrong, " Which implies that if someone is being "asked to leave" than it's not their fault per say.
I imagine that if it is their fault and they screwed up, "you're fired" is the appropriate thing to say, and generally pretty instantly.
> The choice between leaving and being fired may have an impact on your next job, perhaps??
The impact comes not from what they tell you, it's more about what they'll tell the next company when they call to ask about you (though if the two don't match up, you run into a lot of problems).
If the company has documentation to back up their side - something like "he/she was found asleep at his desk several times (dates A, B, C), was given both verbal (on date D) and written (on date E) reprimands, continued to sleep at his/her desk (dates F and G), and was let go on date H" - then I don't believe that there's a law that stops them from doing so.
Yes, they may get sued - but they're likely to win the lawsuit (especially if they required the employee to sign the written warning, so he/she can't claim ignorance).
Fred's further advice of getting right to the point and giving them honest, clear reasons is spot on. He's not advocating for bullshitting the employee; he's advocating for not being a dick when there's no reason for it.