As a business owner you’ll have to make some tough decisions. One of those is knowing when and how to fire an employee. It’s something many managers and owners would like to avoid or put off, but if you take the right steps it doesn’t have to be as bad as most people perceive, and both parties will walk away with dignity intact.

Firing should be based on performance, there is no room for emotions, it really is just business, your business. Employees with poor performance will cost you time and money, so you should act sooner, rather than later. Think about a party attendant that’s not very outgoing or enthusiastic during a birthday party. It’s likely the birthday parents will be disappointed, and you want them to have a great experience and come back the following year, right?

So how do you fire a bad employee?

The best and the easiest way to fire an employee starts with the way you hire your employees. Most of your employees will be high school students and for many this may be the first job, which is fine, everyone has to start somewhere right? Now here is the important part, when you hire employees always let them know the first two weeks are a trial period, where at any time you can let them know that it’s not working out, and at the same time, if they realize this is not something they want to do, they can easily let you know – either way no hard feelings. After all, you don’t want unhappy employees working at your fun center.

Once you hire an employee you should let them know you have a three strikes policy or a zero tolerance policy on certain things, so that everyone is on the same page. If those rules are violated, or if the performance is poor, they know they’re on the chopping block. When that time comes, follow these points:

1. Fire Privately

When you’re ready to fire an employee make sure you setup the brief meeting in a private room, either your office or a cake room. The goal is to let go of the employee not to embarrass them in front of others.

2. Don’t Do It Alone

It’s best to fire with another person present in the room, not necessarily because the employee can get hostile, but just in case they make any threats against you or your jump center. This way you have a witness present.

3. Fire on Mondays

Always fire in the beginning of the week, don’t wait until Friday afternoon. This way the ex-employee won’t dwell on it over the weekend and can get right back to a job search.

4. It’s Not a Surprise

It should never be a surprise to an employee when they’re getting fired. Whether it was one major incident or recurring poor performance they should have seen this day coming. It’s your job to address poor performance and let employees know when they need to be doing a better job. Don’t fire someone who has never been given a warning or tips for improvement.

5. Keep it Short

Keep this conversation very short and to the point. Focus on employee’s performance and let them know the decision has already been made and it is final – there is no room for discussion. Here’s an example: “We’ve had conversations about your performance, and it’s not working out. Your job is terminated.” You don’t want to beat around the bush or sugar coat it. Keep it professional. This should not be a surprise, and if you have any employee write ups you can briefly refer to those as proof.

6. Review Employee Write Up Forms

Anytime an employee is late, or breaks any rules make sure you fill out an employee write up – and make sure they sign the form. There is an employee write up form, ready to use, in your start up package. We gave our employees three strikes before they were out. Make sure you keep the write up forms even after you’ve fired the employee for your records to protect yourself. While we never had any issues regarding wrongful termination, we’ve had an occasional parent call and ask why their son or daughter was fired. Of course the employees don’t share with their parents the details of their termination or any prior problems leading up to that point –  but you’ve got the write ups to prove it.

7. Final Paycheck

This will most likely be the last time you speak with the employee. Make sure you address how they’ll receive their final check, usually either by mail, or you can hand them the final check immediately. This is also the time you get back any company property, keys, etc. If you are firing a manager, if need be, setup a time before or after regular business hours for them to pickup their things.

8. Change Your Passwords

If you have given out any passwords or login access to update your company Facebook or twitter accounts make sure you change those immediately. When letting your employees update your company profiles, make sure you own the accounts in the first place.

If you follow the steps above firing an employee becomes just another process of running your business and if the process is well planned and executed, it rarely reaches the level anticipated or feared by managers.