How Glassdoor Lets People Go The Right Way

Being a people manager is a wonderful thing. Being able to coach, train and develop individuals into rockstar employees is not something everyone gets to do in their career. I remember the first time I was able to reward one of my employees for their hard work – watching the smile on their face as their promotion was announced and their hard work was recognized. I thought, “You helped this person get here.” That feeling of overwhelming excitement you have when an employee succeeds is how you know you’re doing your job as a manager – it’s fulfilling. But being a people manager is also one of the hardest jobs you’ll ever have, especially when it comes to having to let one of your employees go. At Glassdoor, we do something that many companies don’t – we practice what we preach. We preach transparency in our products, our recruiting successes and challenges and how we manage employees. The same follows suit for how we handle terminating individuals. I’ve experienced this firsthand at Glassdoor as a director who has had to terminate individuals within my organization. Communication matters most In the many relationships I’ve had with employees at Glassdoor, I focus on creating an environment of open and honest communication. We are all adults who should mutually respect each other; I show that by being candid about what every individual is doing well and even more transparent when they are failing to meet expectations. I also do this by allowing people to feel comfortable coming to me when they are stressed, upset or just need to talk through ideas and strategies on their own performance, or our clients. By holding recurring one-on-one coaching sessions about key areas of development, there are no surprises when I, as a manager, have to take further action after speaking with an employee about what they need to improve. In select cases, despite coaching and training, I have had to escalate the situation further and place underperforming individuals on a performance improvement plan, otherwise known as a PIP. These performance plans include documentation of the issues and a concrete action plan (typically a 30 or 90-day plan) to provide the employee with achievable and realistic goals. By performing the same process for every underperforming employee, I offer no special treatment to anyone I supervise. Ultimately, when an employee does not perform up to par during – or after – the duration of the performance plan, a formal termination follows suit. When to get HR involved When I’ve experienced personnel issues at Glassdoor, I’ve always enjoyed support from our Human Resources team. They are with me when I present an individual with a performance plan, and are also present when I communicate to the employee that they are no longer going to be a part of my staff. This support empowers me to handle personnel issues with confidence and fairness. Ultimately, firing someone is never easy. When you work closely with your team on a daily basis, the person you’re firing is often a good friend. Telling someone that they no longer have employment – despite the transparency of the message and delivery – is often poorly received. But, firing someone at Glassdoor does include the mandate to treat individuals with dignity and respect. If there is any “right” way to handle these tough situations, using open communication and transparency is the way to go.