By following the steps below, managers can reduce their anxiety about conducting an employee termination and can help the employee deal with the termination in a healthy way.
Prepare for a termination meeting. A termination meeting should be carefully planned in order to minimize potential legal liability, protect employees and company property, and reduce emotional distress to the employee being discharged, experts say. Issues to consider include:
- Why hold a meeting? A termination meeting should be held face-to-face. Firing an employee via e-mail or text or over the phone is likely to anger the employee and contribute to feelings that they are being treated unfairly, Cooper says. By meeting in person, you are showing the employee respect and treating them the way you would want to be treated.
- Who should attend? Generally, at least two company representatives should be present. The employee should not be permitted to bring a lawyer, co-worker, or family member to a termination meeting. 'Always have a witness, preferably other management or someone at a higher level than the employee,' Cooper says.
- Where will the meeting be held? It is best to conduct the meeting in a private, neutral location, such as a conference room. If the office is a big, open area, then try to schedule the meeting after hours to provide the employee some privacy, Cooper says. The company representatives should be seated by the door so that, if the employee becomes hostile, he or she cannot block the exit, experts advise.
- What will be said during the meeting? A script should be prepared before the meeting so that the meeting can be kept short, not more than 5 to 10 minutes. 'Keep it factual,' Cooper recommends. 'The one who will be emotional is the employee.' The message should be simple: the employee is being terminated because they have failed to meet performance expectations or address other problems that you had already outlined with them.
- Are special security measures needed? In extreme situations, it may be appropriate to have security personnel standing by, depending upon how the employee is likely to react. At a minimum, have the employee's passwords, accounts, access to buildings, computers or other company assets disabled before the meeting to prevent the employee from doing damage to the business after they are fired.
- How will logistical matters be handled? Make sure to address how the employee's final paycheck will be delivered, how company property should be returned, and how long benefits will be continued.
- Will severance pay be offered in exchange for a release of claims? A company that does not have a severance plan subject to the Employee Retirement Security Income Act (ERISA) may want to consider offering the employee severance pay. Generally, severance should only be awarded if the employee agrees to sign a separation agreement that releases the employee from any claims against the company, Cooper says. 'If you're just paying severance out of the blue and you don't get a signed release of claims, you have no protection,' she says. She advises against issuing severance unless it is a risky termination because that sets a precedent for other employees to expect severance if they are fired.
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The terminating managers should attempt to keep the meeting professional, brief yet complete, under control, and humane. You may want the employee to be escorted back to their office after the meeting to collect personal belongings and then be escorted out of the building.
One of the most important things to do in the termination meeting is to treat the employee with dignity and respect. This can be demonstrated by showing sensitivity to the employee's reactions, wishing the employee success in future endeavors, and being willing to speak with the employee after the meeting to answer questions about his or her transition out of the company. The terminating managers should also write down what was said at the meeting, in the event of a lawsuit.
Employee discharges don't end with the termination meeting. Several tasks have to be effectively managed after the termination, including:
- Informing remaining employees on a need-to-know basis about the termination
- Handling reference requests appropriately, consistently, and in a way that will reduce the potential for lawsuits
- Dealing with claims for unemployment insurance benefits or other benefits so as not to trigger further problems for the organization
These post-termination activities should be handled with the same degree of planning and care as the actions before and during the termination meeting. 'Once you let an employee go, you immediately have to have a staff meeting with those who need to know,' Osteryoung says. 'Tell the staff briefly what happened and why. You need to stop the rumor mill very quickly. But you don't want to provide too many specifics.'
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