Terminating A Employee

Terminating A Employee? The sooner, the better. Here's why.

As a human resource person or small business owner, terminating a employee should not keep you awake at night. Whatever mantra you tell yourself, you are running a business and if an employee hinders your productivity and service level, then you are doing yourself a disservice by keeping them in a job. You must improve your business and be on the move towards success, not bogged down by a lazy or incompetent employee.

Terminating a employee can happen when you are ready. If there is a rule for terminating a employee, it should be not to fire them where they may feel humiliated. Remember to leave dignity and morale intact when letting someone go. It will benefit your business in the long run.

How to Break the Bad News, Terminating a Employee with Dignity

Would you want to be told you were losing your job in front of your coworkers? Neither does your employee. Find a way to tell your employee that you need to speak with them, whether by speaking to them, sending them an email, or leaving them a note on their desk. Sure they may have an idea what it is about, but that also takes less of the stress away from telling them the bad news.

Before the employee enters your office, be certain you know the concrete details of the situation (if there was one), of their performance, and of their attendance. When they come into your office, try not to sugarcoat, pump up, or distort the reality of the termination. An employee knows that they have underperformed when you tell them. By telling them white lies to keep their ego intact, you only take away an opportunity for them to see how they have acted or performed, and possibly in their next job they can do better. If you offer them the respect of an honest assessment, they will be less likely to place blame elsewhere and fail again in a similar situation.

So we advise you to be honest, up-front, and personable. The employee will be less likely to cause a stir when confronted with dignity and compassion. Take a moment before they arrive to put yourself in their shoes. It could help you tell them in a straightforward way. Terminating a employee should be done with compassion and with the company in mind.

The complete story on firing a employee.

As an employer, you must conduct employee investigations before termination proceedings can begin. This is because failure do employee investigations before termination proceedings can lead to lengthy legal battles – and you might find yourself on the losing end.

Why are employee investigations before termination so important?

Conducting extensive employee investigations before termination is so important because a court can use all of your documentation, or lack thereof, if your employee decides to file a wrongful termination suit. If you do not have enough documentation or properly recorded documentation, you can not build a strong case to back up your termination decision. Remember, it is up to you to prove your case. Without the evidence documentation provides, you will have a difficult time doing this. As a result, you might find yourself paying damage charges or stuck with an employee that you don’t want to keep on board – or both.

How do I conduct employee investigations before termination?

Employee investigations before termination should be a team effort among supervisors. If you are a small business owner, you might be the only supervisor. If you are a Human Resources Manager, on the other hand, this responsibility may rest on your shoulders as well as on the shoulders of the other supervisors in your company.