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SynthBoard

Decision Cluster · Termination

AI for Firing Decisions

Most firing decisions are made 3-6 months too late. Run the call through a CEO, an Operator, an Empath, a Lawyer, and a Skeptic — and decide with structure, then act with care.

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In short

When you've been avoiding the decision for 60+ days, when the team has visibly worked around the person, or when their continued presence has cost more than their original recruitment. The Boardroom will pressure-test against your specific case.

Last reviewed

An example

One ask, start to finish.
What comes back is a memo.

How a board takes a call like this: her read, who sits, what they ask first, then the call — with how sure they are, who disagreed and the first step.

Termination

Example · Board of 3

My senior hire isn't performing — fire, PIP, or role change?

Chief of staff

This one needs a board: The CEO, The Operator and The Empath. The CEO holds the through-line on company strategy and stakeholder trade-offs. Each researches alone first, then they react to one another — and on a decision, two of them take opposed sides.

  • The CEOChief Executive Officer
  • The OperatorCOO
  • The EmpathPeople Advocate

Asked first

If you could do only one thing this quarter, is this it?

YesOne of twoProbably not

The board’s call

Part with the senior hire now, not via PIP. The issue is fit, not capability — PIP will produce false hope and prolong the team's frustration.

Fit issues don't resolve through PIPs — those are for capability gaps. Generous severance for non-cause partings preserves brand and reduces legal exposure.

Confidence71 · Moderate

The Empath disagreed

“Have legal and HR review the script before the conversation”

First step Offer 8 weeks severance, healthcare continuation, and a graceful narrative.this week

Board of 3 · up to 135 credits on the card · an example, not a recorded run

Other asks people bring here

Several asks in one message become several rooms, each with its expert and its own price on the card. Keep or drop any, then convene them together.

  • Should I fire someone who's great culturally but underperforming? — The Operator, up to 85 credits
  • I avoided firing for 6 months — is it too late to do it now? — The Empath, up to 85 credits
  • Severance amount for a 2-year tenured employee being parted with? — The Lawyer, up to 85 credits

What you get

What she handles.
On this kind of call.

Fix-vs-part diagnosis

The board weighs whether the issue is fixable (coaching, role change) or terminal (fit, capability, integrity).

Timing + transition plan

The Operator designs the timeline — immediate vs PIP vs negotiated exit — based on the specific case.

Legal exposure check

The Lawyer flags risk areas — protected class, retaliation, missing documentation — before the decision is made.

Team-impact read

The Empath weighs how the team will read the decision and what they need to hear afterward.

Why SynthBoard

Why SynthBoard for this.
Not one voice. A board.

Fix-or-part diagnosis first

Most firing decisions skip the diagnosis — capability gaps and fit issues need different interventions.

Legal pressure-tested

The Lawyer flags exposure risks most operators miss — protected class, missing documentation, retaliation patterns.

Team-impact framing

The Empath represents the survivors' experience — what they see, what they fear, what they need.

Confidential by default

Your decisions stay private to your account; describe the situation without exposing the individual.

Who sits

The experts for this call.
Each one holds a position.

Your Chief of Staff proposes who sits for the call, and every board is built with someone whose job is to argue against the obvious answer. Name an expert and they take a seat; tell her who you want on your board and they sit by default. How many seats a board has depends on your plan.

Pick an expert

Hover, tap or tab throughSwipe, then tap one
  • GPT
  • Claude
  • Gemini
  • Grok

Seats are spread across model families: GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok and more.

Questions

Fair questions.
Straight answers.

What people ask before they bring this call to a board.

How do I know it's time to fire?

When you've been avoiding the decision for 60+ days, when the team has visibly worked around the person, or when their continued presence has cost more than their original recruitment. The Boardroom will pressure-test against your specific case.

Should I always do a PIP first?

No — PIPs are for capability gaps with a credible path back, not for fit issues. The Boardroom will distinguish; misusing PIPs as exit theater is one of the most damaging patterns for both the individual and the team.

What's the right severance?

For non-cause: typically 1-2 weeks per year of tenure with a floor of 4-8 weeks. The Lawyer and CFO will calibrate against your local norms and the legal exposure of stinginess.

How do I tell the team?

Same-day, brief, forward-looking, without defaming the parted employee. The Empath will help script the message specific to your team's culture and the circumstances.

Can the panel help me prepare the conversation?

Yes — describe the situation, your goals for the conversation, and the panel will pressure-test the script. Most firing conversations go wrong because they're over-rehearsed or under-rehearsed; the right level is somewhere in the middle.

Is this confidential?

Yes. Your decisions are private to your account and never used to train models. Describe the situation without sharing names and think through the most sensitive personnel call without exposure.

Keep exploring

Nearby decisions, audiences and methods inside SynthBoard.

SynthBoard (synthboard.ai) is one place for your business, your life, and every hard call. Your Chief of Staff keeps what you tell her on file, and 24 named experts on different AI models take the calls — one expert for a consult, a board with opposed seats for the hard ones — and hand back a memo with the call, the dissent and the first move. How it works.

24 named experts.
She seats the ones your call needs.

Should I do this Monday or Friday? Morning or end of day?My senior hire isn't performing — fire, PIP, or role change?I avoided firing for 6 months — is it too late to do it now?

It waits in her box after you sign up. Nothing is sent until you press send.