COACH'S CORNER
By Barry Knepper
As Seen In Queensborough - The Magazine of the Queens Chamber of Commerce

How to Terminate a Family Member

TAB Member's question:
I have employed my niece as a favor to my sister. My niece is an underperformer and this has caused morale issues among other employees. What should I do?

TAB Coach:
While procrastination may work as a strategy for some difficult business decisions—it is hardly ever useful regarding a serious performance issue, regardless of the employee's last name. An unhappy sub-performing employee brings down morale and their continued employment sends the wrong message to everyone else that is hopefully productive and happy in their work.

My recommendation is to sit down with your sister and explain the situation first. The discussion must cover the performance issues and the effect on other employees and the company in general. You can then sit down with your niece and ask her if she if she is doing what she wants to do? I can almost guarantee her answer will include not working for you. As a family, you can then try to help her move forward into another opportunity by getting her training in what she really wants to do.