Why Does HR Make It So Hard To Fire People? - Part 1

Manager Tools

Mike Auzenne

Management, Leadership, Strategy, Feedback, How-to, Skills, Advice, Development, Careers, Coaching, Business

4.6 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 16 February 2026

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For over half a century, managers have been complaining: "HR won't let me fire this guy." This myth - and yes it is a myth - is so common that experienced managers teach it to new managers, and it affects entire firms' performance management systems much for the worse. The reason so many managers can't fire people is not because they can't. It's because they don't want to do it the right way, and they want to blame HR.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to Manager Tools.
0:02.5	This is Sarah.
0:04.0	And I'm Mark.
0:04.9	Today's podcast, why does HR make it so hard to fire people?
0:09.2	Part one of two.
0:11.3	The questions this cast answers are, why can't I fire someone?
0:16.9	Why does HR prohibit me from firing someone?
0:20.5	And how can I fire someone?
0:23.5	If you want answers to these questions and more, keep listening.
0:29.3	Believe it or not, most managers are never actually trained to manage.
0:34.2	They're promoted, they're given a team, and they're told to, quote, figure it out.
0:39.4	Manager Tools, effective manager training teaches you the core skill every manager needs,
0:45.1	how to run one-on-ones, build trust, and drive results through your people.
0:50.5	Stop guessing and start managing with confidence. Learn more at manager dash tools.com forward slash
0:57.6	emc. All right. So Mark, HR gets a bad reputation. You're telling me this? I know. I know. Exactly. And yes, even from us
1:09.2	over the years, HR has gotten its share of critiques, if you will.
1:14.4	We call them as we see them. What can we say? But in one situation, at least one that we know HR has always, always been right.
1:22.8	The blame we place on them is wrong and we at Manager Tools, may be the best source for defending
1:29.0	HR stance on firing. So today, we're here to set the record straight.
1:34.7	HR is right about not letting the vast majority, 99.9% of managers, fire just anyone at any time for any reasons.
1:47.6	Managers, we managers, have a special duty of thoroughness and ethics that too many of us
1:53.2	never meet in our first effort to fire someone, and it's wrong, and HR not only does the right
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Mike Auzenne, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Mike Auzenne and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.