I work at a place like this. Staff who are totally middling and have been coasting for years can find themselves on the chopping block due to a new supervisor and a changed budget environment. Suddenly, carrying a deadweight FTE doesn’t make sense anymore. It can also happen when such employees are “protected” and then the protector retires / leaves. New management wants to clean house.
I agree you need documented sign off from higher ups. Otherwise you’ll find out he’s “protected” and your decision overturned.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Yes, I have had discussions from day 1 about how things needed to change. His performance reviews going back 10 years said the same things needed to change. The company paid for an executive coach for him to try to fix the same issues to no avail. I have no question that it’s the right decision. I just feel bad about it.

I guess I’m wondering why no one cut him loose before if that’s the case.

IF the employee has good evaluations from prior years and they are older than the rest of the team, a sudden change in evaluations followed by termination looks a lot like age discrimination

OP said the same issues have showed up for 10 years on his reviews, so this is not the case.

In that case, the issues have been documented for 10 years and acceptable and now they are being fired?

Yes, this is strange. If I were OP i'd be wary of this. I was put in a position to "clean up" an org that had problems like that, and once that was done and it was how they wanted it, I was let go--largely because of the backlash of having to fix things. Nice.

Ditto.

Yep, I was being pressured to do this too OP. Fortunately, I was able to leave before I had to actually proceed with the firing. Management was going to make me fire and also hold me accountable for the firing.

I would confide in the employee and let them know management has it out for him and they want to pin it on you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I have had discussions from day 1 about how things needed to change. His performance reviews going back 10 years said the same things needed to change. The company paid for an executive coach for him to try to fix the same issues to no avail. I have no question that it’s the right decision. I just feel bad about it.

I guess I’m wondering why no one cut him loose before if that’s the case.

IF the employee has good evaluations from prior years and they are older than the rest of the team, a sudden change in evaluations followed by termination looks a lot like age discrimination

OP said the same issues have showed up for 10 years on his reviews, so this is not the case.

In that case, the issues have been documented for 10 years and acceptable and now they are being fired?

Yes, this is strange. If I were OP i'd be wary of this. I was put in a position to "clean up" an org that had problems like that, and once that was done and it was how they wanted it, I was let go--largely because of the backlash of having to fix things. Nice.

Ditto.

This guy could have gotten his job based on who they knew. He’s been there a long time and he’s not producing but somehow got passed along.
The entire working universe is sick of seeing people getting cut a break because of privilege. Yes, even in DC.
On the flipside, he could have pi$$ed off the wrong person.
Just a thought.

Anonymous wrote:This doesn’t pass the smell test. Why would the company keep on an employee with TEN years of poor performance reviews?

could an EEO complaint be involved?

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Anonymous wrote:If he’s been politely asked to change and face NO consequences for 10 years, why would he change. I don’t think you are awful for firing him, but I think you need to warn him.

Tell him he had 6 months for show improvement and be clear how you will measure it.

+1 You should probably let him know where he stands and that if there's no improvement within X amount of time he'll be fired. Give him a few more months and tell him exactly how you will be measuring the performance. He may quit.

Let him know that you have been tasked with eventually firing him. It's something management does to new supervisors, because they don't have the guts to do it themselves. Put him on a PIP and advise that he think about retiring if he has enough time, or start looking for a new job now and you will give him a good recommendation.

Anonymous wrote:My brother fired over 50,000 people over course of career.

He himself was fired 4 times during career.

Not a big thing.

Obv your brother was rich, so yeah then it doesn’t matter as much. We’re talking about normal people here.

What is the nature of his underperforming? Did someone who had been protecting him recently leave the company? Do his peers have some kind of soft spot for him? 10 years of underperforming in writing? How specific is the feedback?

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know why so many on DCUM side with coddling slackers. While people may feel sorry for this guy, where’s the sympathy for his co-workers who had to deal with him for a decade? And, what about the worker’s ethics of taking full pay and not doing his job for ten years? Frankly, I have no sympathy for such a person. He’s been playing his co-workers and company for 10 years, and now he’s finally going to bear some consequence. Good riddance!

Well bud, you’re the jerk. The impact on his coworkers (read, the company) is nothing compared to the impact during the dude after decades will have on his life. Just because people work for you, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be treated with dignity. Damn.

You might be surprised that some employees react well. They tend to know who isn't pulling their weight, and top performers are happy when the crappy people are let go, as long as there is a backfill. People who are poorer performers start to worry about their own jobs, which isn't a bad thing.

Have you told them what needs to improve and let them know that if it doesn't they will be terminated? That can be pretty motivating. Or is this person simply incapable of doing the job?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I have had discussions from day 1 about how things needed to change. His performance reviews going back 10 years said the same things needed to change. The company paid for an executive coach for him to try to fix the same issues to no avail. I have no question that it’s the right decision. I just feel bad about it.

I guess I’m wondering why no one cut him loose before if that’s the case.

Same. Why now and why you?

Unfortunatley, this happens a lot. Plenty of people are given (yes given) jobs they're not good in, but no one wants to have the difficult conversation, so they kick the can. Then they leave it to the new/capable leader to inform them. I've told multiple folks at evaluations (not being fired or anything) that their previous managers did them a disservice by not affording them the opportunity to improve with support. It's a disaster for organizations and teams, but companies let it happen in exchange for comfort.

My brother fired over 50,000 people over course of career.

He himself was fired 4 times during career.

Not a big thing.

Is this the same OP from the thread about being asked to give someone a verbal warning about something that happened before she got there or something like that?