http://www.hrmorning.com/how-to-fire-someone-and-not-destroy-the-both-of-you/ Your daily dose of HR Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:50:05 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 http://www.hrmorning.com/how-to-fire-someone-and-not-destroy-the-both-of-you/comment-page-1/#comment-26820 Patrick Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:34:02 +0000 http://www.hrmorning.com/?p=4773#comment-26820 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. 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.

]]> http://www.hrmorning.com/how-to-fire-someone-and-not-destroy-the-both-of-you/comment-page-1/#comment-26532 hrm Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:56:32 +0000 http://www.hrmorning.com/?p=4773#comment-26532 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. 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.

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