Firing Employees and The Dreaded Termination Letter

For Many Managers The Only Thing More Stressful Than Getting Fired... Is Firing Someone Else! Here's How To Do It Without All The Stress

By Anna Johnson

If you manage people for any length of time, it's likely that, at some stage, you'll need to give someone a termination letter.

It might be because they aren't performing to your expectations; because you no longer need their role performed; or because they've breached the law or a company policy.

Whatever the circumstances, firing employees is a confronting and often stressful task.

So here's a way to make the process easier and less traumatic - both for you as well as the person you need to dismiss.

Depending on why you need to fire someone - whether it's due to poor performance, a role that's no longer required, or a legal or policy breach - I suggest you do the following...

1. Poor Performance

Firing employees or relocating someone because of poor performance is often the most difficult situation because, firstly, it may be unclear why your employee is underperforming, and secondly, depending on the relevant laws, it may be difficult for you to prove that they're underperforming, let alone legally justify your decision to fire them.

So, if you are dissatisfied with someone, the first step is to work out why he or she has performed so poorly. Specifically, is it because of:

-- You,

-- The organization, or

-- The poor performer?

Beginning with you... are you managing the person satisfactorily?

This is crucial for two reasons. Firstly because it may actually be unnecessary to fire your employee - if, for example, you can turn around their performance simply by changing the way you manage them. Secondly, because it avoids being confronted with a wrongful dismissal claim!

Alternatively, if both you and your employee work for someone else... the real problem may lie with the organization.

Has it failed to provide enough resources for your employee to do their job properly? Is it failing to give you the support you need to carry out your management responsibilities?

If so, you may need to request changes or more support from the "higher ups". And needless to say, if the organization is to blame... firing and replacing your employee is unlikely to improve the situation.

Of course, neither you nor your company may be responsible for the poor performance. It may be the employee.

So now you need to ask the following questions: is the employee ill suited to the role? Do they lack key talents, skills or knowledge? Are there personality clashes with you or other colleagues that are interfering with their work? Or are there personal issues that are impacting on the employee's attitude or performance at work?

And... is there anything you can do about any of this?

If not - and you've done all you can to help your employee improve - then the fact is, you cannot afford to keep them on!

Of course, none of this means you can't fire someone in a fair and compassionate way.

In fact, you can make it easier by giving the employee plenty of notice - for example, one to two months depending on how tight the job market is and whether you can afford it.

You can also enable the individual to apply for jobs and attend interviews. Even better (if you can afford it) would be to pay for them to attend career change training, where they will learn how to prepare, or update, their resume, and apply for new jobs.

And if you don't want the employee to continue doing their old job during this time, just get them to do other things. For absolute clarity, you should clearly state these benefits in his/her termination letter.

2. The Role Is No Longer Required

If a particular employee's role is no longer needed, or you no longer have enough work to keep them busy, then you'll have to "retrench" that individual.

In this case, it's important to remember that the worker is not to blame for losing his or her job.

If you can, redeploy the employee in another role. But if that's not possible try to provide plenty of notice, let them apply for jobs while still in your employ, and pay for career change training.

3. Legal / Corporate Policy Breach

Now you might think that firing an employee who has breached the law or a corporate policy is the easiest situation in which to sack someone.

Unfortunately, it can be just as tough!

For one thing, you'll need solid proof to back up any accusations that the employee has done something wrong. Depending on the policies of your company and the jurisdiction in which you operate, you may also need to comply with certain corporate and legal requirements.

You should also be prepared to give the employee a fair hearing... and be ready for what they have to say.

For instance, are there are any extenuating circumstances that, by law, policy or good conscience, you need to consider when deciding whether and how to fire someone? Should you put the employee on some kind of probation?

Of course, you don't want to take it easy on someone who has clearly lied, stolen or breached your trust!

While it may only be fair to help out a person you fire or retrench because of poor performance or because their role is no longer required... when it comes to someone who has clearly and knowingly done something wrong... don't be slow in cutting out the "dead wood" before the rot starts to spread!

Okay, so now you have some general tips for firing employees. Hopefully, if you follow this advice, you'll find employee termination much easier and less stressful.

From: http://www.howtomanagepeople.com/firing-employees.html