You get "minimal" when you fire him
This is true. The only way to get a level 1 staff has always been to fire a staff member without replacement.
There hasn't been any change in the way staff members work, the BBs have just added nomenclature similar to player skills to get rid of the numbers.
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."