You’ve had honest conversations and set clear expectations.

 

But despite your efforts, nothing has changed.

Here’s the hard truth:

 

When someone is underperforming and not improving, you must let them go.

Your business is only as strong as the team behind it. Skilled, motivated employees drive innovation, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency.

By reviewing roles through a structured job evaluation process, you create clarity around expectations, responsibilities, and what good performance actually looks like—making it far easier to identify genuine underperformance.

Firing someone is never easy. It feels personal, and you worry about team morale and possible expensive legal issues.

 

But here’s what you need to know: Keeping an underperformer hurts your business and your team.

The Cost of Inaction

Underperformance drags everyone down.

 

It lowers productivity, disrupts the team, and demotivates your top performers.

 

When you avoid tough decisions, your team notices. They see you tolerating mediocrity, and it impacts their own motivation.

Consistently underperforming employees often reveal deeper issues in job structure, unclear expectations, or a lack of defined role accountability, problems that job evaluation frameworks are designed to solve.

The Power of Action

Letting someone go isn’t just about cutting losses. It’s about setting a standard.

 

It shows your team that performance matters and that you value their efforts.

 

This decision opens up space for someone who can excel.

Taking decisive action also protects your business from operational bottlenecks caused by ineffective people systems or roles that haven’t been properly defined.

The Bottom Line

No one likes firing someone, but it’s a part of leadership.

 

It’s about doing what’s right for your business and your team.

 

Be responsible. Take action when needed.

I help business leaders make the tough calls and balance the needs of the business with the human element of employment which is a constant source of stress for any business leader.

I always recommend firing someone on a Monday. It gives them the rest of the week to find alternative employment.

Even better, you can reach out to your network to see if anyone is hiring for suitable roles, creating the possibility for that person to excel and perform meaningful work elsewhere.

If underperformance keeps surfacing in your business, it’s often a symptom of wider people and process gaps. Our HR Health Check helps you identify where expectations, structure, or management systems are breaking down, before issues escalate into legal or morale problems.