MBA2631 How to Fire Good People Who Are Bad Employees

Letting go of someone who’s a genuinely great person—but just not the right fit for the job—is tough. What do you do when an employee is well-liked, loyal, but underperforming? If making the right decision for your business feels like the hardest one, you’re not alone. In this episode, Omar breaks down why firing good people who are bad employees isn’t just necessary—it’s actually better for your team and your business in the long run. You’ll learn why keeping underperformers can quietly drag down morale, hold back top talent, and keep your business from growing the way it should. Omar shares clear, respectful strategies for handling these tough situations, plus key mindset shifts every business leader should consider before making the final call. Doing what’s best for your company, your team, and your customers isn’t easy—but this episode will help you make the right move with confidence. Hit play at the top of the page and get the straight-up steps you need! Watch the episodes on YouTube: https://lm.fm/GgRPPHiSUBSCRIBEYouTube | Apple Podcast | Spotify | Podcast Feed

• 0:00Speaker 00

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  They handle the things you can't afford to get wrong, so you don't have to worry. So you can focus on the parts of running a business that you enjoy, knowing everything else is running smoothly. You don't have to worry when it just works. Firing someone who is lazy or toxic, that's easy. But firing someone who's kind, loyal, well-liked, and just not getting the job done? That's one of the hardest things you'll ever have to do as a business owner. I've done it, and I'm here to tell you it's necessary. Let's talk about how to fire good people who are bad employees the right way.

• 1:25Speaker 00

  Welcome back to the $100 MBA Show. I'm your host, Omar Zenhome, where I deliver practical business lessons three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, to help you start, grow, and scale your business.

• 1:38Speaker 00

  Here's the truth. Most people you hire will be good human beings. It's just what I have found in my over 15 years of entrepreneurship. But good doesn't always mean effective. You can be a great person and still be a poor fit for the role they're hired for. And keeping someone in a position that they're underperforming in, that doesn't make you nice. It makes you the bottleneck. I'm going to get into the cost of keeping someone who's not a good fit, but there's two things I need to highlight first. Number one, if somebody's not working out, you need to take responsibility. At the day, you're in charge of the business. You or somebody on your team who you hired made this hire, right? They didn't just show up in your business all of a sudden. You made the choice and thought that they were good enough for this job.

• 2:23Speaker 00

  It's becoming apparent you're mistaken, right? So you need to own it. This is not their fault. This is actually your fault, so you've got to fix it. The second thing I want to share with you is that you have a responsibility as the business owner to serve the stakeholders, which are your customers. It's not your job to give out jobs. Your job is to serve the customer and the customer needs to be served through several ways. Through good service, through creating a great product, through running a good team so the team can deliver for the customer. So even if they're not directly interacting with a customer, let's say they're a manager or they're in HR, their job is to make sure the business succeeds so that the customers get what they need. Your job is to uphold that. Your job is to serve your customers. You are responsible for that as the owner of the company.

• 3:07Speaker 00

  So that comes first before you are trying to help people, train people, all that kind of stuff. Because a lot of us, we think that we can save people that are not a good fit. And hopefully you can, but in my experience, more likely than not, you made the mistake of hiring somebody that is not a good fit. Today's episode is sponsored by Whatnot. You've probably heard about live selling and it's taking off on Whatnot. Sellers on Whatnot don't need a storefront or paid social media ads to reach customers. This is what I love about it because with live video, you interact and engage with your customers. You just need your phone and buyers can ask questions, they can make purchases in real time. On Whatnot, you could see people selling from living rooms and warehouses, selling sneakers, electronics, vintage, even a guy on a boat selling lobsters he just caught.

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• 4:34Speaker 00

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• 5:39Speaker 00

  So what's the real cost of keeping somebody that's not a good fit in your business? It does just hurt your business. It hurts your A players because they lose motivation. The best people on your team will lose motivation because they're working with people that are not at their level. Morale takes a hit when somebody is not doing their job or doing their job good enough. The team silently starts lowering their standards because they start seeing that this is acceptable. Like this person's performing at this lower standard. I guess I can work at that low standard now. Remember, as a business leader, everybody's watching what you do and don't do. And your business starts to drift into mediocrity. Okay, this is the most dangerous thing out of all. You should be always thriving for excellence, for being the best in your industry.

• 6:24Speaker 00

  And once you start sacrificing your standards, especially when it comes to the talent in your business, this is when you slip into just being okay. Now, Steve Jobs is not a perfect human being, but he put it best. He said, "The problem with B players is they hire C players and C players drag down the whole team." And A players want to work with A players. The moment they're surrounded by anything less, they start leaving. Let that sink in. Keeping someone who isn't performing can cost you your best people. So here's what to do with respect and clarity. You want to document any challenges, problems early. That's the first thing you want to do. Make sure you've done that. You've communicated expectations. You've given feedback. You allow them to have a clear path to improve.

• 7:08Speaker 00

  If they can't meet the mark, after that, it's time to let them go. Now, let me be honest with you. I've done this so many times and nine times out of 10, they get fired. Okay, they do not improve, but I have to do this to be fair. And because there's that one time out of 10 where they do change, they do improve. They have clarity and they actually become an A player. It's rare, but it's worth doing what you're supposed to do and give them a track to get better, to improve, to give them feedback, give them a chance. It's worth doing so that you're respectful and you're doing the right thing for your company. But also for that one out of 10 times that they are going to change and they are going to become an incredible asset to your team. Number two, don't personalize it in this process.

• 7:53Speaker 00

  Professionalize it. You're not firing a person. You're addressing a performance misalignment. Now, that sounds like corporate speak, but I'm serious here. You need to address this from a professional point of view. You could say something like this. This isn't about you as a person. You're actually enjoyable to work with. It's about the role and it's about what the business needs right now. Unfortunately, this just isn't the right fit. This makes it honest and respectful. Number three, make it clean and clear. Don't make it vague to be sensitive and, you know, not hurt their feelings. You could be professional, but you need to be clear. Be direct, no fluff, no long speeches, no guilt tripping. Letting them go with dignity and clarity is the best exit you can offer.

• 8:36Speaker 00

  Make sure it's clear that the relationship is over, that they will no longer be working for you and what the next steps are. Don't be vague, don't beat around the bush, don't make it sound like they're not fired, but they are fired. No, there's no time for that. You need to work on the next hire. And if you didn't what you're supposed to do and you're Professional about it and you give them a chance to prove they know it's coming. Listen, I've been there. I've had to let go of someone who was one of the kindest, most loyal people I ever hired. But they were missing deadlines. Projects were stalled. Others were stepping in to cover them. Sometimes I knew people were covering them and sometimes I didn't. I found out later. And I waited too long because I didn't want to hurt them. Sometimes firing someone is freeing them to find where they can thrive, where they're a better fit, where they're more valuable.

• 9:19Speaker 00

  Before I go, I want to leave you with this. If you're struggling with this decision, here's the truth. You're not being cold. You're being clear. Your job is to protect the mission, the team, and the people who are showing up and doing the work. And your customers, of course. Letting go of someone who isn't a fit, it's hard. But it's a decision your future self will thank you for and your team will thank you for. You know you're supposed to do this. You know that you have to do this, so do it. Thanks so much for tuning into the $100 MBA Show. If you want more support as you build and lead your dream team, you're going to want to join my three things newsletter. Every week I send you three things. Something to think about so you can build a stronger mindset. Number two, something to do so you're stacking wins week after week.

• 10:03Speaker 00

  And number three, something to learn so you're scaling up every single week. It's no fluff. It's to the point and it's my way to coach you from afar. If you want to sign up, it's absolutely free. Just go to 100mba.net and you can sign up to any of our free guides or any of our freebies and you'll be added to our newsletter automatically. I hope to see you there. Until next time, remember, business is not a challenge. It's a series of challenges that makes you stronger. So keep going. See you next time.

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