How to Fire an Employee Using an SBI Script (5-Round Dialogue + Objection Handlers)

The Scene

You are a director at a 40-person logistics startup. Carlos has been on your ops team for 14 months. The first six months were strong. The last eight have been a slow drift — missed deadlines on three supplier audits, two customer escalations that HR logged, and a PIP that started 60 days ago with three measurable criteria. Carlos hit one, missed two.

The PIP ends Friday. HR has approved termination. You have the separation paperwork, a final check through end-of-week, and a 20-minute slot booked for Friday at 10 am with HR on Zoom as a witness.

You need to conduct this conversation in under 15 minutes. You need Carlos to leave understanding why, not just that it happened. And you need to say it without drifting into either (a) softening it into ambiguity ("we are going to have to let you go but it is a mutual thing") or (b) sounding like you are reading from a legal deposition.

SBI — Situation-Behavior-Impact, from the Center for Creative Leadership's Feedback That Works (2006) — gives you a structure for exactly this conversation. It is the same framework you have used for regular feedback; using it here keeps the termination grounded in specifics, not character.

SBI Recap (30 seconds)

Three pieces, in this order:

• Situation: when and where, anchored to specific dates and PIP criteria.
• Behavior: the observable actions — missed, said, delivered, did not deliver.
• Impact: the effect on the team, the customer, the business.

In a termination, SBI replaces the vague "it is not working out" with two or three anchored examples Carlos cannot rewrite on the way home.

The 5-Round Termination Script

Round 1: The First Sentence (30 seconds)

Never bury the lede. Within the first 30 seconds, Carlos must know what this meeting is.

You: "Carlos, thanks for coming on. Jasmine from HR is on the call with us. I am going to come straight to it: today is your last day with the company. I want to walk you through the specific reasons, then Jasmine will take you through the separation details."

Do not preamble. Do not ask "how is your week going." Do not soften this. The first sentence is the entire reason you are here.

Round 2: The Two Anchored SBIs

You: "Sixty days ago we started a PIP with three criteria. I want to walk through two specific moments that informed today's decision.

First — the April 2 supplier audit. Situation: you owned the Q2 audit of our two largest suppliers, due April 2. Behavior: the audit was not submitted by April 2, was not submitted by the revised April 9 deadline, and when Maria escalated on April 11 the work was 40% complete. Impact: we missed the window to renegotiate the Midwest contract, which is a seven-figure account we now have to revisit in July instead of Q2.

Second — the March 18 customer call with Denova. Situation: 30-minute call, three Denova stakeholders on the line, you were the technical lead. Behavior: when their procurement lead asked about our audit cadence, you said 'honestly, I think it is every quarter but I would need to check.' That is a factual question about our own process. Impact: Denova's procurement sent a follow-up questioning our operational maturity. That escalation is in the file.

Those two — plus the PIP criteria that went unmet — are the reasons for the decision."

Two anchored SBIs, not five. More than three in a termination reads as a prepared case and invites the person to lawyer up emotionally.

Round 3: Acknowledge What Is True

You: "I want to say two things before Jasmine takes over.

One: I know you had a strong first six months. The work on the Phoenix integration is still a reference point for the team. Nothing about today takes that away.

Two: I take responsibility for not flagging the drift earlier than 60 days ago. If I had started the PIP in January instead of February, you would have had more time. That is on me, and I am telling you that to your face because I think you deserve to hear it."

This is not softening the termination. It is honoring the relationship and owning your own piece. Skipping it makes you look like you have been waiting to fire him since day one. Dragging it out makes the decision look reversible.

Round 4: The Predictable Pushbacks

Carlos: "So everything I did counts for nothing."

You: "Everything you did does count, and none of it is being erased from the record. The conclusion today is about whether this role is the right match going forward — not a verdict on your career."

Carlos: "This is because of the Denova call, isn't it? You never forgave me for that."

You: "Denova was one of the two examples I walked through. It is in the decision, yes. It is not the whole of the decision — the PIP criteria and the supplier audit are the other two pieces. I want to be straight with you about that."

Carlos: "Give me one more month."

You: "I understand the instinct, and I know a month feels like a small ask. We already extended the original timeline once — the PIP had a midpoint check-in on March 15 that we used to adjust. The decision has been made. I am not in a position to reopen it, and I am not going to pretend I am."

Round 5: Hand Off and Close

You: "Jasmine is going to take you through the separation details — final pay, benefits, equipment, references. I want to offer one thing from me personally: if you would like a reference call with a future employer, I will do it. I can speak to the Phoenix work and the first-half strengths honestly. Take a week, then email me if you want that.

Jasmine, over to you."

Then mute. You do not need to watch HR walk Carlos through COBRA paperwork. Stay on the call silently for the 5-7 minutes it takes, end with one sentence ("Carlos, wishing you the best"), and log off.

Common Reactions and How to Respond

| What Carlos Says / Does | What You Say | |---|---| | "I am going to talk to your boss." | "You are welcome to. Sarah already knows about today's decision. Jasmine can give you the right HR channel for the formal path." | | Cries. | "Take a minute. There is no rush on this call." Wait. Do not fill the silence. Hand him back the call when he is ready. | | "I have a family, a mortgage — how am I supposed to…" | "I hear you. That is real. The separation package includes [X weeks] of continuation and Jasmine will walk you through the full details. I understand none of that is the same as a job." | | "You are making a mistake." | "I hear you. The decision is made." — then silence. Do not argue the merits of the decision with the person being terminated. | | Threatens to sue. | "That is your right. Everything I said today is documented, and HR has the full file. Jasmine will give you the formal process for a dispute if you decide to pursue one." | | Goes quiet, just stares. | Do not fill it. Wait 10-15 seconds, then: "Jasmine, let's move to the separation details." |

Why SBI Beats "We Are Going in a Different Direction"

| Termination Phrasing | How It Lands | Legal / Human Risk | |---|---|---| | "It is just not working out." | Ambiguous, invites argument | Makes disputes harder — nothing anchored | | "The team has decided." | Cowardly, hides the deciding manager | Destroys trust in the rest of the team | | "You have been underperforming." | Character verdict, no examples | Invites "prove it" | | SBI with two anchored examples + ownership statement | Specific, bounded, unambiguous | Matches the documented PIP file — defensible and humane |

A termination is the single most important conversation in the management relationship. SBI does not make it easy. It makes it honest, and it gives the person something specific to take away — so they can grieve it, learn from it, and eventually move past it.

Try It With Your Specific Situation

The dialogue above is for a logistics director and Carlos. Your situation has a different PIP, different examples, a different industry, and a different personality on the other side of the call. The first sentence is the same. The two SBI anchors, Round 3 ownership, and Round 4 pushbacks are yours to generate.

Drafting this script from scratch typically takes managers 90 minutes — and most freeze at the ownership paragraph. ConvoPrep generates the full termination script in under a minute from your inputs, then lets you practice the three or four pushbacks your specific employee is most likely to use.

Try ConvoPrep free — convoprep.co. Walk into Friday at 10 am having already had this conversation twice in rehearsal.

FAQ

Should I fire someone over Zoom or in person?

Whichever format you use for other sensitive conversations with that person. If Carlos was hired remote and has never been in the office, firing him in person is theatrical and cruel. If Carlos is in-office twice a week, doing it over Zoom when he is in the building is cowardly. Match the format to the working relationship. Either way, HR is present and it is the first meeting of the day.

How long should the termination conversation be?

12-18 minutes total. Under 10 minutes reads as rushed. Over 20 minutes starts drifting into debating the decision — which is not on the table. Round 1 (30 seconds) + Round 2 (4-5 min) + Round 3 (1-2 min) + Round 4 (3-4 min of pushback) + Round 5 (2 min handoff).

What if I genuinely do not know the answer to a pushback question?

Say so. "I do not have that answer. Jasmine, do you know?" Or: "I do not have that answer. I will get back to you by end of day Monday." Inventing an answer under pressure in a termination is how companies end up in depositions.

Do I have to document the termination conversation?

Yes. Within 24 hours, write a factual record of what you said, what was said back, and hand it to HR. Use the same specificity as SBI: the two examples you gave, the pushbacks that came up, the state the person was in at the end. This is for the record if there is a later dispute, and for your own reference if you fire anyone else.