How to fire someone — and not destroy both of you
September 16, 2009 by Jim GiulianoPosted in: Communication, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Terminations
There are many ways to let someone go, and a lot of them are bad and unnecessarily hard on both parties.
Of course, there’s no “good” way to fire an employee, but managers — especially newer managers — should be aware that work psychologists note that some ways are better than others:
- Be clear — in your own mind — about the reasons. You don’t need to go into exact detail with the person being terminated, but you should be rock-solid on the reasons in case there’s ever a legal challenge. Fuzzy reasons tend to create doubts in the minds of a judge or jury. And doubts are never good when someone’s challenging the firing on the basis of discrimination.
- Get to the point quickly and clearly and concisely. Discussing last night’s football game as an icebreaker for a termination meeting just doesn’t work, and only makes matters worse.
- It’s OK to rehearse, but don’t use a script. Imagine yourself on the other side of the table, and the person doing the firing is checking off boxes on a sheet of paper while going through the process of rearranging your life. Not cool. You should be adequately prepared, but don’t make it seem like you’re counting widgets.
- Stay calm and listen to the reaction. It might be sorrow, or it might be rage. Whatever it is, be ready to listen but not necessarily react.
- If laying off large numbers, take time to regroup between meetings. To the person being fired, the situation is unique and should be treated that way. Assembly-line firing is unfair to that person. So take a little time between each meeting and ready yourself to treat the person individually and appropriately. If the layoff is connected to cost-cutting, consider highlighting the employee’s strengths and contributions.
Tags: termination
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:56 am
There will be times when you need to use a script (RIFs, etc), but it is important in those situations to explain to the person being released that you are using a script and that it is to make sure everyone is told the same thing. This is especially true if you have multiple meetings going on at the same time and need to ensure absolute consistency.
September 24th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
A major key to successful terminations is doing your job upfront before a firing is needed. Was the employee aware of their deficiencies? Did you follow progressive discipline so the employee understood that each step was one step closer to a release? Is there documentation justifying this action and is it consistent with past terminations? I have learned to keep my voice at a normal speaking volume and slow down my pace. It helps the employee let the message sink in and it can help keep them from getting irate. I have had them threaten me, beat on the table and slam doors in the worst cases but the majority of the time I get a hand shake and believe it or not a “thank you”. Why you ask? Because it was not my goal to tear them down. My goal was to let them know that we tried to work this out before it reached this point. That we coached and counseled them so they understood the behaviors that needed to change. That we tried to help them improve their performance to avoid a termination but the rest was in their hands. So if they couldn’t meet clearly explained objectives, then they can only blame themselves. When a terminated employee turns up the heat and fires back at you, do not raise your voice or show anger. Some will try to sucker you in to tell details then use it in their legal defense. Stick to the basics!!! Tell them we tried to avoid this by counseling you on several occasions to prevent this decision. You knew what was expected and for whatever reason you could not fulfill that expectation. The decision is now final and it cannot be reversed. In the worst possible case I have told the employee that if they could not leave in controlled and respectable manner then we would call the police to have them removed.