Getting Fired

Spanning my 53 years in ‘the biz’, I’ve mostly hired well, with an attitude of: see the best in people, be fair, be firm. And I’ve retained most people. But of course, from time to time, I’ve had to remove – fire – sack – bone – terminate people.

Some just didn’t fit the model. And over time things have progressed to the Fair Work Act and the ‘Performance Review’ dogma of today. That PR is now a red flag which some people can use to improve performance, if the employer is reasonable. Many get served up with a PR and just walk, knowing it can be the start of the end.

Back in the day there was zero recourse. While I thought I was fair – paying a week’s pay in lieu plus holiday pay – I reflect that the modern workplace is a world ahead, where contracts, expectations and roles are actually and usually well defined.

Back then?

“Hi everyone, this is Grunt. He is our new guy.”

Whereafter Grunt attempted to fit in, read my mind and figure out, hey, when is lunchtime anyway? What is ‘induction’?

Turns out we didn’t have one. Nor, really, did we have a ‘lunch hour’. We just took 20, ate our stuff and had a fag. Indeed, coffee and ciggie breaks were unregulated.

On ‘the road’, hiring was informal. “I need a trog.”

The grapevine, or the bar at the Manzil, produced one. If it was breathing, vertical, had four limbs and looked tough enough, then ‘we leave at 10 am’. If he didn’t work out – or if it came to blows (yep) – it was out of the truck at whatever town we were in. A temporary replacement came from the local Commonwealth Employment Service office, which was a great resource.

It wasn’t until I enrolled at Jands in 1990 that I saw a ‘progressive’ HR regime, run by the dynamic Dayle Schirripa. I was a contractor, but I admired the system they had.

Back in my hiring-debut days, when I was growing Barratt Lighting from one employee (me) in 1977 to 15 in 1980 in rapid succession, the selection criteria went thus: put a classified ad in the Saturday Herald, field phone calls, interview.

I hired a kid whose father I knew, and he was outright lazy. After three warnings, I chucked him.

His dad rang Roger Barratt, my boss, and I got overruled. Our first big blow-up.

A week later, I made Roger re-fire the kid.

A dude joined Jonathan in the hire department and quickly developed a major anger issue. When he blew up at a road crew of three who were just collecting a rig, I had to jump in to save his sorry arse from badness. I kicked him out as ‘unfit for frontline’. So he joined the NSW Police! Horror.

At Graftons we grew from four to forty in three years. We really depended on the receptionist, who took calls on a PABX and switched them to whatever department.

One young lady had ‘the attitude’, and by day five I was ready to boot her. She beat me to it. The switch was ringing out. On the desk was a note: “Julius, you may have money, but you do not have taste.” Quite true, in hindsight.

We had a problem out back on the aluminium milling machine that churned out Australian Monitor front and back panels. The guy was trained up – a six-week process – then became a pain. Started parking his crappy van in the visitor spot, took multiple ‘sick’ days, really stretched the elastic.

Eventually Stuart snapped, booted him, and ran the mill himself while training a lovely young Canadian kid.

At the college, from 2001 to 2010, we had an annual adjustment of headcount according to full-time enrolments. One year I had to downsize. The most recent guy sat stunned as I gently explained the reality. “You’re firing me!” he said, truthfully, not at all. Then he started to cry.

On roadshow we’ve ended a couple of roles early and paid out the contracts in full. It can be a hard gig. No one is necessarily ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’; it just requires uncommon skills.

At Sydney PA Hire I have staff and a payroll again, albeit casuals. But they have rights. They need defined roles, job descriptions, skill levels and progression pathways. We manage OK, I think.

The new superannuation rules are a pain. I have to approve the payment and then get a code to auto-pay each week. But I think it is for ‘the common good’. After all, until surprisingly recently it was almost de rigueur to stiff people on their super.

So, after 53 years of hiring and occasionally firing, I reckon we’ve progressed.

And that’s probably a good thing.