Is it Time to Fire an Employee? Take This Simple Quiz
By Bob Phibbs
Not quite sure if your employee is really that bad or you are being impulsive? These 16 questions will tell you what's in your heart.
1. When getting ready to go to work and reviewing my schedule to see if I am working with them, do I:
a. Look forward to it?
b. Grin and bear it
c. Hate the thought of working with them
2. When I get to work and I have to give the person instruction are they:
a. Listening attentively?
b. Distracted, looking around the room?
c. Asking me to repeat myself with the same points I've gone over time and time again?
3. When taking orders from customers do they:
a. Get the order right?
b. Occasionally have errors but they catch them?
c. Frequently have errors that a supervisor or customer notices?
4. Their attitude is frequently:
a. Positive and upbeat?
b. Hit or miss?
c. Hit-and-run?
5. When talking to customers or other employees do they:
a. Try to get to know them with the back-and-forth of sharing their own experiences while inquiring about the other person?
b. Talk only about themselves?
c. Generally ignore them or clam up?
6. Whether they punch a time clock or on salary are they:
a. Usually on time?
b. Occasionally late, maybe five or 10 minutes once or twice a month?
c. Rarely on time?
7. When a customer asks one of the five most common questions customers ask at your business, does the employee:
a. Answer it politely?
b. Roll their eyes and answer it?
c. Point them to a sign or not answer?
8. Is the way they talk to a customer or other team member usually:
a. Friendly and courteous?
b. Just the facts ma'am?
c. Rude or cynical?
9. If they work the sales floor, how are their sales?
a. About the same as everyone else
b. Significantly higher than the rest
c. At the bottom
10. Is there a sense of urgency in their communications?
a. About average, if I leave a message they get back to me that day, if the customer needs to be called, they get around to it, they answer e-mails in a day or so.
b. Better than average. They call me back quickly if I have to leave a message, they get right back to a customer, they answer e-mail promptly.
c. There is no sense of urgency. They don't always call me back; they put off calling a customer to someone else, e-mail stacks up.
11. If they aren't performing as you had hoped are you:
a. Making excuses for them to others?
b. Covering for them and letting them know?
c. Constantly having to talk to them about some correction?
12. If you think about them as an individual, would you see them as someone who:
a. Is positive about themselves, their work and their job?
b. Pretty middle-of-the-road?
c. Negative about themselves, life in general, your products, and/or their job?
13. Is there a change in the way they work from when you first hired them?
a. Do they still seem bright and shiny and glad to be there each morning?
b. Have they lost some of their enthusiasm but are still engaged?
c. Are they burned out?
14. Who has power over who?
a. They need the job more than I need them
b. It's evenly split, they need the job and they perform it well.
c. I need them more than they need me.
15. Have you given them at least one written performance review with a deadline when you want specific changes made that they have had to sign to acknowledge the consequences of their actions, attitude or performance?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Should I?
16. If the role they were doing for you were a 60's cartoon character would they be:
a. The Road Runner, from Looney Tunes, always running and running and successfully staying out of trouble
b. Underdog from the cartoon of the same name, a contestant not expected to win with an innocent, weak demeanor.
c. Schleprock from the Flintstones, something is always wrong, bad luck is just part of their life and they'll tell you about it
This is just guidelines to help you become aware of your feelings. There is no grading scale - you know the decision you want to make.
Remember, if you are feeling this way, they probably already know it. Sometimes people need to be pointed to a new way. People often say to me, "What if I train them and they leave?" I always answer with, "What if you don't train them and they stay." They thought they could do the job when you hired them, just like you did. Don't put it all on the employee, you both failed.
It is no crime to fire someone for not doing their job. It is a crime to put up with slackers who are losing you money every day. To avoid throwing away all the money you paid to train them and possibly opening yourself up for a wrongful termination case you MUST give them a written chance to correct their behavior.
Once you fire them you may find out they were already looking, that they were giving away free product or they told others they never liked their job.
Management means you need to make the tough calls early. Don't hang on to someone just because they are a warm body or because you are afraid of them or unemployment.
Otherwise, you'll end up one day with far fewer customers and make the excuse that they all went to a competitor when in fact, those customers just didn't want to have to deal with your employee who should have been gone long ago.
Best-selling author and speaker Bob Phibbs has helped thousands of independent businesses compete by using his sales approach and not discounting. His Book, You Can Compete: Double Sales Without Discounting is the backbone of several companies training programs and teaches his methods for making over a business. Download more free tips at http://www.retaildoc.com/media/free-articles.htm
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