Running a forum means building a team you can trust, but sometimes, staff members don’t work out. Maybe they’ve become inactive, maybe they aren’t a good fit anymore, or are even causing issues within the community. We've seen it happening that members just aren't motivated once they're promoted.
Letting someone go is never easy, but at what point do you make that decision? And how do you handle it - do you have a private conversation, make a public announcement, or just quietly remove their permissions?
Have you ever had to let a staff member go? What advice would you give to other admins facing the same situation?
1) Policy - What does your policy state? Is it clear about expectations and procedure for not meeting those expectations?
2) Trends - Can you identify a trend with why people are leaving? What is root cause of their departures? Can something be addressed to correct these issues?
3) History - What is the history of the user’s performance? Is something going on?
4) Alternatives - Performance plans, LOAs, reclassification, etc. can be considered if the user is responsive.
In all cases (barring gross misconduct), I think a conversation is warranted. This conversation should include documentation that notes areas of concerns, specific call to actions, and a clear check in. If expectations continue to not be met, I would consider either next steps. Coming from HR, I always err on the side of employee development and care. It’s easier to navigate a situation if the decision to leave belongs to the person rather than to management. This conversation can be tricky but detailing procedure (which could include separation) sometimes motivates users to go ahead and depart rather than working through a corrective action scenario.
Since I started my forum a little over a year ago. I removed a moderator from my team, because they never told me they were a former moderator with one of my partners, and they made a mistake hustling the owner out of money.
