The author mentions firing people in almost every point. Is firing people in the US so easy that it is a go-to solution to solve these problems?
I had one manager (who then became CTO and is now CEO of another startup) who, by all appearances, treated firing as the only tool in his arsenal for dealing with any personnel problem. I was never on the receiving end, but in a few cases I know for a fact that he lied (or hugely exaggerated) about what the terminated employee had been done. He is the reason I left.
* you can demand written explanation if you've worked for at least two years
But, for most contracts here a 3/6 month probationary period seem to be the norm for tech/professional roles, and then a 3-month notice period (to quit or be let go).
Generally big tech companies don't give your manager the authority to blindly fire you, but only because that's a decision the company made.
For those abroad, remember that most of the time health insurance is tied to employment in the US... so when you get fired your costs also skyrocket (especially if you're the insurance source for your family).
Basically there are a few different scenarios here:
1) somebody committed a firing offense. This is rare but it happens and it requires immediate action. These are in a way the easiest because they are usually so clear cut and sometimes it involves legal action as well. I've never had to do this myself but I've seen it happen to other people around me. We're talking clear cut cases of "WTF did that person just do?!". You get legal involved and make it happen. It's unpleasant and you'll have no choice.
2) mutually agreed consensus about somebody's performance. This is the "it shouldn't be a surprise" situation. This usually happens after you've created plenty of opportunities for the person to improve. Often that just doesn't happen and you need take it to the next level. It's stressful and it involves building a case against a person such that they can't ignore the reality that they are indeed not delivering. Mostly people like this leave by themselves. For me the test of this done well is me being able to meet these people afterwards to have a friendly/courteous chat over coffee/beer a few years later. I'm often pleasantly surprised to see that people moved on and improved themselves. Sometimes firing somebody can be the best thing you do for a person from a career development point of view. Don't make it personal.
3) financial difficulty sometimes makes it necessary to make tough choices. Usually people that were performing less (see 2) would be the first ones to go. This sometimes comes as a surprise. In my case I got an excellent performance review, a little raise, and was out on the street two months later. It wasn't personal and I was definitely surprised/shocked. I've since had to fire people in struggling startups a couple of times. It sucks. For everybody. If it feels like failure, it's because it is. I've had to fire friends even. And we're still friends.
Simple recommendations when firing:
- Build consensus about the action with your direct peers. You are representing your company here and relaying a joint company decision. So, make sure it's a fair decision that everybody can stand behind. Firing somebody should not come as a surprise to your peers.
- Be straight about this happening on your recommendation though. Don't hide behind the company.
- Expect people to be shocked, emotional, etc. and be ready for this. So, don't ask them to take any difficult decisions on the spot. But inevitably, some paper work may be involved and some legal steps on both sides.
- Focus on the core facts of the situation and avoid any debating or arguing.
- Lead with the core message: "I have some bad news for you ...".
- Have an off-boarding plan and communicate that plan. "This is what happens next".
I've been around people who were fired in Germany as well, both as what you described in 1) and 2).
2) takes a lot of effort, a lot of people and the negative effect of that person's performance on the rest of the team can be severely damaging too, that I wish we had at-will employment in Germany too sometimes, but it's there for good measures and I'm generally happy with it.
Doesn´t that mean you the employer failed too? It could be that someone is really not well fit for the role, but it could also be that the employer has no clue how to lead someone to success. As you say
> I'm often pleasantly surprised to see that people moved on and improved themselves
This is for me an indication that the employer lacks critical skills and needs improvement. Being a checklist manager and demanding improvement is the easy part, but making people grow in the direction you want is the hard part.
As a manager/supervisor/mentor, I've coached more than a few people to success to know that I'm actually objectively good at this. Quite a few people I've worked with have gone on to be extremely successful in what they do. And I like to think I helped them on that path a little. But there are exceptions to this where indeed I failed to get people off their ass and improve themselves. A handful of those situations escalated to the point where letting them go was the next logical step. Some people are just fundamentally hard to coach or even open to being coached.
Ok fair enough, that is a vital addition you made.
What I have observed is the pattern of "she doesn't function" => "she needs to improve" => "she needs to let go". If you do provide coaching to a motivated person, I believe success is the most likely outcome.