Did you ever have to fire a programmer?

Question

As a team/project manager or as an empowered developer, did you ever have to fire someone (maybe even a co-worker)? If you did, how did you handle the situation? I know there is no single right answer to this question, but wanted to hear some of your experiences.

Some background info: As a developer and team lead on some projects I have never done this, but honestly felt the need to do so on a single occasion. "Unfortunately", management did not listen to the several signals I (and others) gave about the bad influence we felt the person had on the team. If at that time, I had have to power to do so, I would certainly have fired that person.

On the other hand, we have had some people being layed off and, being a human being, everytime I was feeling for the fired guy but also for the manager who had to tell the news.

Answer 1

I once had to fire a guy because he absolutely did not perform. It was the hardest thing I'd ever done. The guy had been going through quite a messy separation and wasn't recovering, even after repeated attempts to get things sorted out.

In the end I had to bite the bullet and let him know that, if his performance didn't pick up in a month, we'd have to let him go.

Unfortunately, there was little improvement and I, as project manager, had to do the deed.

Hardest aspect was that we'd worked together in the past, before I was PM and I knew what an absolute XXXX his wife was. Still, we weren't running a charity and we gave plenty of opportunity for improvement and warning of impending action.

Thanks whatever deity you worship that I'm back in a tech role.

Answer 2

I've had to fire a few people in my time.

Firstly employment laws differ from country to country, so you need to ensure you are legally allowed to fire the person.

Secondly, one of the first big mistakes I made early on in my career, was not to tell people they weren't up to scratch early enough - don't leave it to an annual review to tell them they are no good.

Give them regular feedback and set clear objectives: if they don't meet these then it becomes much easier to form a case against them when coming to get rid of them. Also, they get the message that they aren't performing to your expectations.

When it comes to the actual firing process, use clear unambiguous language and get straight to the point. It's no fun for anyone to have it drawn out. Be really prepared for all sorts of replies to 'Just one more chance', crying, unraveling of personal woes, emotional blackmail etc. Make sure you have a water tight case too.

Answer 3

I had to fire someone once because they refused to do support. We were a small company (< 8 people) and everyone had to do their bit.

One person repeatedly put out buggy code and this added to the support burden (this was before automated testing, code reviews etc). The MD of the company lost patience and fired her... but made me tell her.

Answer 4

I had to fire a lady who was writing inflammatory blog posts about one of our biggest customers... one that she directly worked with.

I'm not sure which was worse, the fact that she was writing all of that, or that she didn't discuss it with me, which would not have been a big deal. Strangely enough when I sat down to talk to her about it she realized that her blog was directly traceable, and I was able to walk her out without incident.

Certainly having the employee believe that he/she is not conducive to a functioning company helps.