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.
The
right way to fire an employee. Fair and legal.
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