At any given time during a business day, throughout the
United States employers are calling wayward employees into
their office to give them the ax, the heave hoe, the old
pink slip. What leads up to employment termination can
vary from company to company and scenario to scenario.
As a business owner or human resource personnel, you must
find your threshold then decide a course of action for
what some believe to be the “hardest” part
of the job—firing the unwanted employee.
Finding the right time and method of breaking the news
to the employee, who may be underperforming, presents the
most difficult obstacle. Many business owners put off the
inevitable by fantasizing the employee will get better
with time, or the reprimands and written notices will eventually
do their job and the message will get through. But how
long is too long to wait? Can you immediately replace an
employee who constantly underperforms? Would the new blood
in the work environment help speed up production, help
uplift the morale of the entire business? Maybe so, and
maybe not.
Employment Termination Missteps and Obstacles
Before bringing in the employee to your office, jot down
a few notes to think about why you should terminate the
employee. By answering a few questions, you can develop
a decisive, short speech to give the employee, which will
help relieve any turmoil afterwards and give insight into
why you are terminating them.
* What problems has the employee caused?
* Are there specific policies the employee has broken?
* Have you warned the employee?
* Have you taken other measures to bring back the employee
within good standing?
* Are there legal considerations to keep in mind?
This last question brings to mind why it is crucial to
have certain actions thought out before bringing in the
employee. Employers do not want to leave any doubt about
why they are firing an employee. Do not let the imagination
of the terminated employee run wild with discrimination
lawsuit ideas. Be concise and direct about the missteps
of the employee and the employment termination proceedings
will be over within moments. Most terminations do not end
in long-drawn-out conversations, but guarded goodbyes,
but be prepared for pleas and some shameful comments.
Many different companies handle employment termination
in various ways, even by emails and text messages recently.
We recommend face-to-face encounters, where the employee
can leave with the respect of the company for having the
nerve to tell him or her in person. If nothing else, it
will keep your company out of the headlines and where it
should be headed, towards success.
Our
guidebook for employee termination. Step by step.
With termination form, letter and procedure.
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