How to Fire a Freelancer & Maintain a Good Relationship
There are 2 things every freelancer needs after getting fired.
The past two weeks have changed how we all do business. Suddenly businesses are feeling leaner than ever and they’re looking to their employees asking the painful question of, “Who don’t we need?”.
As a business owner or Head of HR, you’re feeling the sting of knowing that some of your employees might not be able to ride this wave with you. You don’t know where the wave is heading and to save everyone, you have to let a few people go.
And that’s okay — as long as you do it the right way.
There is a good way to fire a freelancer and a bad way to fire them and how you do so will reflect on your business in the longterm.
While you may think that firing somebody and not creating as pleasant of experience around it as possible is no big deal today — in a few years it may be.
Everyone is working their way up, looking for better opportunities to use their skill set, manage a team, start their own company, or take over another.
You never know who may one day become your peer, and you don’t want it to be someone you know that you’ve wronged in the past.
Here’s What Not To Do When You Fire A Freelancer
There are two things a freelancer needs from you, now more than ever, after you tell them that you need to let them go — and even more so in a heated climate of job scarcity.
They need a testimonial from you and they need you to refer them to any friends/colleagues you know that are hiring.
If you leave this freelancer high and dry, firing them and then walking away — you’re putting your business into a bad light. Whenever somebody asks them about what it was like to work with you, they’ll never be able to say, “OMG! They were the best. What a great client and company, I am so appreciative of them and totally understand that they had to let me go.”
They’ll say, “They were a good client but after letting me go they completely ghosted me for a testimonial. It feels like when they needed me, they were happy to have me but as soon as I was deemed unnecessary, they were happy to walk away without looking back.”
If that freelancer goes on to grow their career and become better at what they do, you may end up in a situation where they’re your peer or colleague and now…you’ve made it awkward.
And there was no need.
When you fire somebody, you’re changing their income and their schedule. While it’s inconvenient for you to have a hard conversation and deal with the change in your internal business, it’s also inconvenient for them. Supporting each other during that time is essential to maintaining a healthy relationship.
Here’s How To Fire A Freelancer The Right Way
Your ex-freelancer needs two things from you, a testimonial and referrals. I understand that you’re busy and you have much better things to do than write this referral, but how long will it actually take you? A 100-word testimonial is plenty and that’ll take about 60 seconds to write.
That 60 seconds could help that freelancer fill the void in their schedule. They could land a new client because of it and instead of being out of money — they’ll be okay. When you fire a freelancer, make sure to give them a testimonial and make sure to do so within a few days.
Second, refer them to anyone you know that would be interested in their help. If you don’t know anyone, then you can tell them, “I don’t know anyone looking for X right now, but if I hear of anything I’ll make sure to let you know.” This doesn’t mean you have to keep refreshing your inbox in hopes that one of your friends decides they need to hire somebody.
It just means that your freelancer doesn’t feel like you’re leaving them out to dry.
If this person did good work for you, was always communicative, and is somebody you were happy to work with but the timing wasn’t right — you want to treat them as such.
At the end of the business day — people get fired. When it’s for a reason like economic downturn or needing to lean out a team, and not for the reason of unacceptable deliverables, you know that there’s a right thing to do and a wrong thing to do.
How you handle letting go of a freelancer won’t reflect badly on you but on your business. And as a business owner or team member, it’s your job to make your business as great as your marketing is making it look.
Take responsibility and help that freelancer by giving them a testimonial and referrals if you’re able to.
It could change their life.
