It’s looking very likely that I have to fail someone’s probationary period at work which means they will be terminated with a weeks notice. They will be failing because they don’t meet the skill level that is required for the job and salary which has ended up with much more work for me, rather than helping spread the load. Its all very structured and above board with clear objectives that haven’t been met and support from HR.
My problem is more moral… in the last 3 months he’s had a child and bought a house, he is also very nice.
The simple fact is that he’s not good enough at his job but I still feel awful about it (first time firing/failing someone’s probation).
Any tips or advice from anyone?
UPDATE: thanks all for the advice. I have already extended his probation 2.5 months ago and this is the final end of probation assessment. When in this weeks objective review I’ve told him that he hasn’t been producing the quality of work within timeframes that are expected for his role. I have also been very clear about the last objective/task on his list that he has 1.5 weeks to complete to a high standard (which is actually a lot of time).
35 comments
Morale wise, give him time.to find another job or a heads up that he should start looking.
I understand that you probably can’t do that due to guidelines etc, but sometimes a person just isn’t right for the job and most of the time if communication was good, they are aware of it as well.
I would just lay out the facts that targets weren’t met and while on a personal level he’s a great guy, etc this isn’t working and wish him the best for the future?
It shouldn’t be a surprise. If you’ve laid out that he isn’t meeting the objectives and needs to improve then this isn’t an unfair act.
If you haven’t made it clear that they’re not meeting expectations then that’s a different matter.
“as we’ve been discussing in our weekly meetings you have not been able to meet the standard that we really need. I’m sorry to confirm that this means we’re extending your probation/terminating your employment”.
As harsh as it sounds, his life isn’t your problem.
If he said he can do XYZ when you hired him, then that’s the least you should expect him to do.
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We just had a developer get sent home with immediate effect due to failing his probationary. He said his skill level was 6, but performed at a 3 (to simplify and make it easier to understand). We needed a 5 to fill the role, and help manage workload of everyone else, but he failed to live up to the expectations he set in the interview.
He was offered help and support over the past 3 months, and he’s failed to improve to the 5 we needed him to be at, let alone the 6 he said he was. We’d much rather take a few weeks/months of no developer, than a bad one. As keeping him on board would have led to more issues further down the line.
>in the last 3 months he’s had a child and bought a house, he is also very nice.
And this didn’t motivate him to meet the bar. This is a business decision and you need to keep it a business decision. This is the mantle that comes with having direct reports. It’s an objective decision based on defined criteria, you can feel bad for him on a personal level but you still have to make the right decision for the business. You also have to consider the effect it has on the rest of your reports/employees if they see someone clearly not doing the job and not suffer any consequences for it.
Failing probation shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, they should know the metrics they need to meet and whether they are meeting them.
You can extend a probationary period, to give the person time to skill up. If you think they are capable, and importantly will listen, why not.
He should surely be aware that he isn’t meeting the targets if they have been communicated to him? If not then now is the time to tell him, and spell out where he’s failing so he can either do something about it or prepare to find something else.
You should be giving him regular feedback on process and expectations, and the consequences of not meeting them – the outcome of a probation period should not be a surprise for anyone by the end.
If he does make efforts to improve but still doesn’t meet the targets, then it’s up to you and your process on whether you extend the probation period or let him go straight away.
If he’s struggling to meet work goals then he’s probably not very happy at the job, either. You’ll be giving him the opportunity to find another job that better suits his skillset.
If he has the right attitude and shows steady if not quick enough improvement, would extending the probation and making him aware of the likely outcomes be an option?
You can extend probation and help get him up to speed, as there must have been reasons he was hired in the first place.
If someone fails probation you can extend their probation, or offer them a lower role. Sacking them isn’t the only option
If he’s not doing his job and you let him get away with it, then you’re not doing your job.
You know what you have to do, his personal situation does not factor in the employment contract he signed and the money he’s taken home.
If you extend the probationary period you have to have concrete proof of why you think this guy will turn it around in the next 3 months and if he doesn’t all you’ve done is delayed the inevitable.
Either you bite the bullet now and do what has to be done, or potentially be prepared to have a conversation with your boss as to why you’re not managing the productivity of your team and not used the procedures available to you.
You also have consider the impact on other employees, you make allowances for this bloke how will the rest of the team going to feel and once you set this precedent? Your actions could have some unintended consequences.
Examples are; you open the doors to other say ‘yes but, you let him off why not me’? You also undermine your own position as the manager (the manager who doesn’t manage) and you piss of the other team members who see someone who is not competent get away with it (because you like him).
It’s never pleasant letting some one go, regardless of the situation, but we all have responsibilities and bills to pay, he’s not unique.
You are paid to fulfil your managerial responsibilities, part of which is doing the unpleasant stuff. Of course even the unpleasant stuff should be done with dignity and compassion, that’s where the ‘morality’ comes in.
The only question for me is whether it has been made clear over the period that they are failing to meet expectations. If they have then this shouldn’t come as a surprise and so you shouldn’t feel hard on yourself about doing this. You’re a good person for caring.
It always feels horrible, I’ve only fired two people, both well deserved and I didn’t know anything about their personal lives and it played on me for a little while. There isn’t really anything you can do to make it feel nicer unfortunately and worst of all you really can’t risk giving him heads up either.
Can you extend the initial probation period?
I had to let go a staff member a few months ago who was a nice guy and relatively okay at the role, but he was clashing with some team members and when working from home was super unreliable. I extended his probation by another month to give him that opportunity under clear instruction as to how he can ensure he passes, he did get better at the role and clashed with teammates less, but he absolutely couldn’t be trusted to wfh which then bred resentment in others, so I had to fail his probation.
If you think the things in his personal life have been a clear distraction and he’s past that now, then speak to HR and see if they’re willing to do another HR period or a defined extension of time.
Failed a 2 year probation in my last job, 1 year and 11 months into it.
Yup, my old boss was that much of an asshole.
Similar situ once, approach was to extend the probation.
It’s important to manage the message and knowing they’re not likely to pass in advance so it’s not a shock. It allows them time to crack on and improve. Or look elsewhere.
In terms of morals, I know it sucks, but if you didn’t accept their job application they would be in this exact same situation but without the few months salary you’ve given them in the meantime. Alternatively there’s someone else out there that needs the job and isn’t getting the salary right now.
If he is on the verge of failing his probation then he should be aware of this, you should have been discussing their performance with them in your regular catch-ups and given them clear guidance on the areas where they are failing to meet your expectations and what they need to do to improve. If it comes as a complete surprise to them that they have failed their probation, then you haven’t been doing your job.
As far as what to do when it comes to the meeting. You should be prepared with clear documented examples of where/how they have failed to meet expectations, and you should be able to demonstrate that this has been discussed with them, and that you have given them guidance on how to improve and opportunities to do so. You need to keep the discussion focused on them, and based on facts, figures and evidence, and prevent the discussion from becoming about other members of the team and what they do or do not do etc. If you’re in an office, it may be worth considering scheduling the meeting for the end of the day, and having another manager or a senior member of the team, encourage the rest of the team to pack up and leave a little early. This way when the meeting is over, he won’t have to clear out his desk in front of everyone.
As for the ‘moral’ consideration, them having a kid and a mortgage isn’t your problem, you have to consider the well-being of your whole team, and having to pick up more work to make up for his short-comings isn’t fair.
Couple of things, extend probation or look at other positions, step back a few notches to work back up, give them a training plan etc
I worked in HR for 8 years at a large multinational company. We were pretty ruthless when it came to staffing costs – but one week’s notice is unacceptable in the modern office environment. It’s unethical and ultimately not in the company’s interest to create that level of chaos in an ex-employees life. You’re leaving yourself open to a lot of hostility for the sake of 3 weeks salary. Just agree with HR to give him the month. He’ll still be working for you, which presumably is better than having no one, and you can start the replacement process.
Can you extend the probation?
Can you not extend their probation and put them on an improvement plan?
I passed an under-performing direct reports probation because I felt bad about other life/work circumstances and now I wish I had extended it by a few months. But also, I think ‘probation periods’ are arbitrary and completely unnecessary and it actually doesn’t make a difference.
got to work out whether he’s bad at the job because he’s bad, or whether he’s just absolutely knackered from just having a kid/kitting out a new house really.
First things first – trust your gut. Do you think if you gave him three more months, he’d turn it around? If you think yes, then speak with your manager and HR, and make that happen.
The ‘bonus’, and I’m aware that’s a horrendous phrase here, but having your probation extended is definitely a wake up call if you ever need one. So either the individual shapes up or they realise it’s not for them. I’ve had one person resign two weeks after we extended their probation.
It doesn’t get easier, especially if you’re working for a large enough company where everyone is an employee. We’re all just doing our jobs.
But trust me, it’s better to do this at probation than doing it in a performance improvement plan which might lead to termination due to non-performance. Those are soul destroying.
I don’t know if this comment will help, but due to our previous boss being slightly inexperienced, she did not fail a colleague’s probationary period. Issues were raised during the probationary period which were ignored. Like your situation, the person just did not have the skills, experience or knowledge and did not fit into our team. This has resulted in so many issues with his colleague and our team constantly picking up the slack. By not failing their probationary period, it was not fair to the colleague and it was not fair to the team. Please do the right thing and think about the rest of the team in the long run. Hope this helps.
Could you extend his probation on the grounds that obviously his head hasn’t been fully in the game with his major life changes but he WILL go if he doesn’t get it together this time?
Sounds like he needs a little more direction, which is totally fine. Ask him where he needs help or extra training. Extend the probation and see if he pulls through. The cost of replacing him will be massive
Yes – a guy was hired and assigned to me on a project I was running. It became immediately obvious he didn’t know what he was doing. Had a chat with him and came up with an improvement plan which he then totally ignored. HR asked for my recommendation and he was asked to leave.
Can’t you offer a less skilled role? I was once on probation and mine got extended luckily there was less notice period when I was in probation when I handed in my Notice the manager had a go lmao
A lot of people are saying extend the probation. However deep down I think you know if someone is going to make the grade or not.
By extending the probation you could just be spending even more hours training someone who you are just going to get rid of any way.
Obviously this is easy in theory, but the reality is that it sucks to get rid of someone.
Manager for the past 10 years here, and had a similar incident myself a couple of years ago. An older employee who worked her absolute tail off was only a third as fast as some of her colleagues who were a few decades younger. Not her fault, but just lacked the competency despite her best efforts
Her mother was ill and her partner had left her, so was a pretty awful thing to be doing and one of the hardest things I’ve had to do professionally
Ultimately, I squared it away emotionally by looking at the team. The other half dozen people were all working that much harder to carry her. Was I really going to punish them by insisting they all work harder because she couldn’t
Was the right decision and the team were universally appreciative a couple months down the line
We did what we could for her, extended her probation a couple of times, and gave her more notice than she was entitled too which she didn’t need to work either. Think she got 4 weeks notice for free instead of working one
I was still the worst person in the world to her which is understandable, but it was very right for the team who all also have their own kids/families/personal circumstances
Yes, in my last job. Had to do it a few times because all trainees/new hires reported to me until their probation was over and the owner had a terrible habit of hiring entirely unsuitable people because they’d accept minimum wage, only to be surprised when they couldn’t do the job to his standards.
Only one was easy, and that was a guy who was habitually late, had a terrible attitude, and generally did poor work.
Had one that we extended the probation of basically so he wasn’t let go right before Christmas, but he saw the writing on the wall and found a new job in the January.
Another we extended because when he applied himself he was actually okay, but despite numerous warnings about being caught away from his desk chatting, he didn’t improve and the owner wanted him gone.
One a bit like yours, he’d just moved to the area with his partner and they were getting married a few months after his probation was up. He was a really nice guy but couldn’t seem to get his head around the work.
When I was put in charge of training and monitoring new hires I created a progression framework that the owner signed off on. It had milestones for 1 week, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months and 6 months. Kept it all up to date and had regular feedback meetings with the trainees where they had to highlight anything they wanted further training on.
Worked well because when we did have to let people go, often it just meant referring to the paperwork. Only one that ever kicked off was the guy who was late and had a shit attitude. He was told on a Thursday, said he’d work his notice, didn’t up on the Friday, then came in early for the first time ever on the Monday begging for his job back. Only problem was the owner had been in over the weekend and cleared his desk so that was a short conversation.
Yes I’ve done it twice. It’s not nice but it’s part of the job.
Yes. But she was an absolute nightmare with a terrible sickness record, A demonstrable history of misrepresenting things, a vexatious litigant attitude, and a questionable record in regards to confidentiality.
I still had to evidence the shit out of things and she walked during the probationary meeting.
This was such a nightmare for me- I woke up thinking about the situation in the middle of the night and turned to the drink/ food so hard during that period I put on two stone.
Could he be shuffled sideways? To a lesser role?