photo: Brenda Gottsabend (Flickr)

Letting an employee go when they aren’t working out can be tough, but as an owner you have to put your business first. Everyone deserves a second chance, but if no improvement is made, cut them loose before it takes a toll on your pizzeria. Here are five signs to watch for.

1. An employee becomes disgruntled. Once you have one staff member that begins complaining, they can start bringing the rest of the staff down with their negativity and bad behavior. 

2. Customers are complaining. If an employee’s name continually comes up whenever customers are unhappy about food, service, etc., there’s a problem that needs to be resolved immediately.

3. They’re not motivated. Have you ever hired someone who was full of energy and motivation for the first 30 days and then became someone who just punched a clock and hung out for eight hours? There are plenty of motivated people out there who would gladly take their place.

4. An employee can’t perform the job they were hired to do. This one may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many employees are kept in positions that they can’t handle. If they can’t do the job, move them to another position that fits them, or let them go.

5. The team would be better without them. In your heart of hearts, you know that your team would be stronger, more motivated and less toxic without them. 

Have you recently let a staff member go who was bringing down your team? How did it improve your business?