Offboarding Guide
WHY OFFBOARDING IS SO IMPORTANT
One of the hardest things to have to do as an early-stage founder is fire people or, as we also call it, “offboarding.” It’s also one of the most important things you can do to cultivate the culture you want in your company and maintain a high bar of excellence on your team. Keeping challenging people on your team is not only bad for your bottom line, it can kill team morale to accept mediocrity when others are pushing to their max.
In addition: your reputation as a company is at stake during these trying people situations. Startups need to attract top talent and if you have a disgruntled former employee out there, it can make recruiting extremely difficult. No matter how hard the situation is, the best outcome is when the employee leaves feeling the process was just and fair - and they were treated respectfully every step of the way.
OFFBOARDING IS THE RESULT OF MISALIGNMENT
Typically there are two ways in which an employee can be a mismatch for your company: performance issues and cultural alignment issues.
Performance issues:
When there are performance issues, the work is not being done, or not being completed in alignment with expectations. This could be the pace of completion or the quality of work is not where it needs to be. Clear job descriptions, expectations, and OKRs or goals make it much easier to identify when there are performance issues because the expectations have been established in advance. Your feedback, then, is a comparison between what was expected and what is happening in actuality.
Cultural alignment issues
Cultural alignment issues are harder to identify because they do not represent work products, but rather they represent company values and norms that are not being met. These issues typically are about how the work gets done - the attitudes and behaviors of the employee. The key to being able to have an offboarding process for someone related to culture or value norms is that you have to have clearly identified and communicated your expectations effectively in advance. Most people underestimate how many times you need to communicate and reinforce your company culture and values. They can’t just be something that is said or printed on a poster; cultural values need to be woven into all aspects of your company to remind and reinforce.
Some considerations
Regardless of whether you are addressing a performance issue or a cultural alignment issue, it’s helpful to clearly lay out expectations and norms up front in your onboarding process so that no one is surprised that there is a misalignment. You also may want to revisit your hiring process if you’re finding that there’s a pattern emerging or a mismatch between the skills you were hoping an employee would have - and the actual level of mastery or competency they demonstrate once they’re integrated into the team.
THE OFFBOARDING PROCESS
When you notice that there is an issue surfacing with an employee, here are some concrete tips to help you correct course or, if need be, manage the offboarding process:
Give feedback regularly
One of the most essential practices you can have as a manager is to meet regularly with your employees. Ideally, you’re meeting every week for 30 minutes using a predictable structure like this one and you’re also deploying your great manager questions. This way you can provide timely and specific positive feedback to make sure your team knows what success looks like and you’re also nipping issues and concerns early on with critical feedback.
There’s a simple formula that makes giving critical feedback a little easier:
Here’s what I have observed [note only non-disputable facts]
Here’s the impact [on our company/team goals]
This needs to change [what change looks like + the timeline for change]
If informal feedback hasn’t produced desired results, it’s time formalize
If someone’s actions or behavior does not change after you provide them with critical verbal feedback in your 1:1 meeting, it’s time to make it clearer to your employee what you have observed, the impact it’s having on the company, and that action is needed. This means you need to make the feedback even clearer and follow up in writing. What is not working? And what does success look like?
Before you go down this path, however, it’s important to figure out how fast you need - or want - to move on this.
Identify a timeline for change
Your course of action at this point is entirely dependent upon the severity of the concerns and the timeline by which change is necessary.
The shortest timeline for this process is 2 weeks
The longest timeline for this process could be 3 or more months
A long timeline might be appropriate when a specific task might not surface during a shorter timeline or the change requested will require a great deal of work to demonstrate meaningful improvement - as with culture issues. Shorter timelines are for more serious issues and are often for tasks or behaviors that are easier to identify and measure - as with performance issues.
Loop in key stakeholders
The shorter the timeline, the faster you need to communicate to critical stakeholders. It’s helpful to quickly check with them before you take any action so that you can collect any additional information that will help this process go smoothly - as well as to get the support you need.
Such stakeholders are typically:
Corporate lawyers - If you think you may be heading into a firing situation, it’s always a great first step to reach out to your lawyers to get specific guidance based on the actual situation. Even if you are just flagging for them that you’re giving hard feedback to an employee, it’s helpful to check in to get some tips so you do this by the books, following best practices. There are also some clear missteps that you want to avoid knowingly.
Senior leadership - Who on your senior leadership team needs to know what level of information? What support do you need during this process? How will this impact other teammates’ areas of responsibility?
Board members - If you’re going to be giving hard feedback to a senior leader, you may want to loop them in to have their support and advice - especially if you think the critical feedback is likely to result in a vacant position high in the company’s organizational structure.
This entire process can happen within an hour or over the course of weeks depending on how aggressive your timeline for change is. In an urgent matter, you’re still going to go through a thoughtful process - you’re just going to speed up the rate at which you go through it.
Prepare for a formal meeting with your employee
Before you have your meeting with your employee, it’s important to write down your key points following the feedback formula:
Here’s what I have observed [note only non-disputable facts]
Here’s the impact [on our company/team goals]
This needs to change [what change looks like + the timeline for change]
When you write yourself notes, try to:
Focus on the most critical points; you don’t need to mention everything that’s not working at once
If you can, try to cluster concerns thematically so the take-home message is easier to understand - e.g., “communication issues” or “deliverable concerns”
Give specific examples
Use factual language without exaggeration or assumptions
Be as clear as you can about what you are looking for - what does improvement look like
Tactical tips
Have a printout of the document nearby so that your employee can sign it at the end of the meeting to acknowledge receipt
Have a pen nearby (and make sure it works!)
Scan the signed document and email it to your employee as a follow-up
Keep a copy of the signed feedback for your records
Have the feedback meeting with your employee
This meeting is very important. You’re increasing the volume of your message to your employee by formalizing your critical feedback and following up in writing. It’s important to cut to the chase and not wait until the last few minutes to give this feedback. You also don’t want to sugarcoat the feedback or else it may not be clear enough what’s at stake if things don’t improve.
Here are some options for how you may want to start the conversation
I have some critical feedback for you
I want to have an alignment conversation with you about how work is going
Let’s talk about your performance on our team
Next, you go through the critical feedback formula:
Here’s what I have observed [note only non-disputable facts]
Here’s the impact [on our company/team goals]
This needs to change [what change looks like + the timeline for change]
Then you make room for questions:
Do you have any questions for me about this
Are you clear on this feedback?
You may want to confirm a shared understanding:
To make sure you understood this feedback, it would be helpful if you restate in your own words what you just heard.
And then close with clear next steps:
I’ll email you a summary of this meeting and our agreements later today
Any other next steps you feel are necessary
NEXT STEPS
Next steps could be scheduling a follow-up meeting to revisit how things are going. They could be to produce a certain set of deliverables of a certain quality by a certain date - or to improve specific undesirable behaviors consistently before the next check-in.
Next steps could also be to escalate this matter into a Performance Improvement Plan over the next two weeks.
The Performance Improvement Plan
The Performance Improvement Plan is a very clear and controlled process that typically is the last step before termination. Before you head down this path, you definitely want to talk to your lawyer and other key stakeholders.
Any Performance Improvement Plan requires a great deal of time from the manager. The manager is going to be watching super closely and will be giving constant feedback over a specific amount of time to their employee. This process is not enjoyable for the manager or the employee but, by the end of the two weeks, it will be clear - hopefully to both parties - whether or not there is alignment.
It’s rare - but possible - that once someone starts down this road, they will turn it around. So, if you choose to pursue a Performance Improvement Plan, be aware that it’s likely the beginning of the end for this employee.
What’s different about the Performance Improvement Plan:
Unlike a typical critical feedback conversation, you are:
Making it clear to the employee that, if the desired improvement cannot be met in this time frame, termination is the next step
Giving very specific tasks and responsibilities that must be completed
Providing specific due dates for each task
Describing the quality of work you are expecting for each task
Being specific about who must be included or involved in the deliverables
Setting specific checkpoint meetings to share feedback
Following up in writing via email after every piece of verbal feedback, so there’s a record
Making sure all feedback is signed to acknowledge the employee’s receipt
A typical structure is:
[Due date] Deliverable or task to be completed
Description of quality criteria - what does success look like?
Description of people - who needs to be involved?
[Due date] Deliverable or task to be completed
Description of quality criteria - what does success look like?
Description of people - who needs to be involved?
> Here’s a template you can use to draft your Performance Improvement Plan.
Make sure to share this document with your lawyer before you have your meetings for feedback and input.
Crafting a communication plan
During this two-week sprint, it’s important to keep key stakeholders up to date - especially your lawyer. You want to make sure that you have the support you need at the end of those two weeks to take action on whatever next steps are appropriate. Perhaps you’ve realized that this is the right person in the wrong role, or you’ve determined that this person needs to leave.
As you head to the end of your Performance Improvement Plan, you will also want to figure out a communication strategy to the larger team if this person will be moved to a new role or will be moving on.
The best possible outcome is that, after a challenging two weeks, the employee resigns. This way the person can leave on their own terms and can control their own narrative.
Other options involve setting a timeline by which this person needs to leave if they can positively contribute while looking for a new job. It’s always greatly appreciated if you can help with this and make introductions for a smooth transition.
Another option is to work with your lawyer on a severance package. The more money you can provide, the easier this option is for employees because it gives them a runway to find their next role. A generous package is typically three months’ pay. Your lawyer will be hugely helpful in navigating this process.
Wrapping up + moving on
Once the plan has been set and the communication has been shared, then it’s time to begin the closure process. Depending on how things concluded, you may want to offer to host a goodbye gathering for this person, based on what a positive farewell feels like for them. In some circumstances, a swift and quiet departure is what the company needs above all else, so the employee may not be offered any choices. Again, wherever you can take the high road and have this person leave gracefully, the better it is for everyone involved.
As this employee’s last day approaches, you’ll want to have an “offboarding checklist,” much like you have for onboarding. You will want to remove this person from privileged information - email, documents, tools you use. You’ll want to collect materials they borrowed and you’ll want to establish a transition plan for any projects or tasks so that there’s a smooth transition. If someone is going to have to step up and fill a gap while you look for a new hire, it’s always nice to offer a spot bonus to recognize this person is doing more than their share of work in the interim.
REMEMBER: OFFBOARDING SHOULD NEVER BE EASY
Truthfully, it can’t be said enough here that how you handle difficult situations will determine your reputation. It’s always important to think about the long- and short-term impact this situation may have on the company - even if individuals have big feelings.
Firing someone does get easier the more you do it, however, it should never feel easy. After all, these are real people whose livelihoods are at stake. If you’re going to be a human-centered leader, then offboarding will always feel heavy even if it’s the right thing to do for your company.