The Best Way to Terminate an Employee
You’re Fired!
How to Terminate an Employee
As a manager or a business owner, you will definitely face many difficult tasks throughout your career. However, one of the most challenging will be the termination of employees. The balance you must achieve in order to successfully complete such a step is delicate yet possible. The goal is to have the employee leave the company with their ego intact and without filing a lawsuit. Read on to know how.
Step 1: Communication
There must be a dialogue with the employee right from start. Outline your expectations and the company's rules. If the employee is performing poorly, you need to inform them of specific performance issues in a timely manner. It would be unfair to fire an employee for poor performance if the employee has no idea that his performance is poor.
Step 2: Documentation
The first step in preparing to fire an employee is to make sure you have all the documentation you need. When you give verbal warnings, be sure to document them properly. Make a case for this specific situation by documenting everything you did before making the decision of releasing the employee. Anything that shows that you tried to solve things before making this decisions leads to a better handling of the situation.
Step 3: The Meeting
- Preparation
Since a termination meeting is stressful, it is recommended that you rehearse your conversation. Also write down your thoughts and reasons for termination in order to be able to face any arguments that the employee has.
- Timing
Timing is important. Companies which fire their employees before major holidays, which should be a time for goodwill, help to create a negative attitude. Furthermore, an employee should be terminated privately and not at a time when there are many people around. Always treat the employee respectfully.
- Have the direct supervisor fire the employee
The department manager -not the HR manager- should be the one announcing "you are being fired." The HR person's role in this meeting is to provide support, for both the manager doing the terminating and the employee being terminated, making sure the conversation doesn't escalate, and to serve as a witness.
- Keep calm
The more aggressive you become, the greater the likelihood that the employee will file a lawsuit or become violent. Be a little compassionate.
- Keep it short and to the point
The meeting should not be long. Don't begin the meeting with the normal small talk, like "how are the wife and kids?"
- Explain their benefits
You may conclude by explaining how their benefit package will be handled and then allow the HR representative to explain the details. This information should also be given to the employee in written form, because they are usually too emotional to listen clearly to such details at that point.
Sources:
www.bizwits.com
www.vault.com
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