Feb 20, 2026 · 4 min read
Firing someone is one of the hardest things you will do as a leader. It is stressful and uncomfortable. But when you reach the point where someone has to go, you must accept a hard truth. You made a mistake.
When an employee fails, it means one of two things happened. Either you failed to manage them correctly, or you hired the wrong person for the job. In almost every case, the fault lies in your hiring process.
Here is how to handle the termination cleanly and learn from your mistakes.
If you are constantly wondering whether you should fire someone, the answer is usually yes.
If two or three people on your team pull you aside to say a new hire is not working out, you need to listen. Do your research, but trust your team. Delaying the inevitable only hurts your company and wastes time.
You do not need to be mean or angry when firing someone. You are not their therapist. You are not there to fix their personal flaws. You hired them to do a job, and it did not work out.
Keep the conversation incredibly brief. Tell them it is simply not a cultural fit. Do not get into a long list of their failures. Listing details only makes the situation emotional, argumentative, and messy.
Offer a severance package to smooth the transition. Tell them you think they will find a better opportunity elsewhere. Most people will accept the severance because fighting it helps no one. If they argue, calmly explain that the alternative is termination on the spot with zero severance.
Of course, there is one major exception. If the issue is fraud, stealing, or harassment, there is no conversation and no severance. It is one strike and you are out.
How you handle the aftermath is just as important as the firing itself. You must be deliberate and honest with your remaining employees.
Send a clear email to the team immediately. Tell them the person is no longer with the company. Clarify that it was management's decision, note that performance was not up to standard, and wish the person luck.
Keep it professional. If the fired employee was popular, offer to discuss the matter privately with anyone who has questions. Do not hide the reality of the situation.
Getting a bad fit out of your company is a massive relief. Now you need to make sure it does not happen again.
Stop and analyze what went wrong. Talk to the people who interviewed the fired employee. Ask them why the red flags were missed.
Most importantly, look at the references. Did you actually check them? You should require three references for every new hire, and you must check them in full before making an offer. Doing your research before hiring is just as critical as doing diligence before taking investor money. If the problems you experienced were hinted at by past employers, you failed to listen.
If a terrible employee asks you for a reference later, you do not have to reply. Ignoring the email is an indirect but clear way of saying you will not vouch for them. People understand what silence means.
On the flip side, if a great employee leaves your company the right way, do everything you can to help them. Give them warm introductions. Go out of your way to get them their next job.
Firing is painful, but it is a necessary mechanism for keeping your company healthy. Treat the departing employee with basic respect, keep the interaction short, and use the experience to build a much stricter hiring process. Every firing is a costly lesson in how to build a better team.