The Right Way to Let Go

Every business will eventually need to fire someone. Small business owners find it particularly difficult, even when it's necessary.

by Brock Henderson Principal, Henderson & Associates [March 16, 2007]

Terminating someone is seldom easy. You've tried and they've tried, but it still isn't working out and you need to get rid of the bad and hire anew.

The legal issues of termination vary from state to state so be sure to check with your attorney on what is allowed in your state. Some states allow you to terminate for any reason, while others restrict what grounds you can terminate on.

Guidelines
Regardless of state law, I am a firm believer in covering your backside to avoid any complaints or law suits for wrongful dismissal. So your first step is to have written policies and guidelines. Everyone in the company should have a copy—or you can have an online version everyone can access. You can't dismiss someone for breaking the rules if they don't know what the rules are, so put the rules in writing.

Also, employees should have a written job description with what is expected of them in their position. Again, if you haven't clearly stated what you expect in terms of performance you can't complain if they don't meet those expectations.

Any time an employee is verbally reprimanded or is spoken to about inappropriate behavior (such as habitual lateness) you should make a note of it in their file. If something continues to happen in spite of repeated verbal corrections the next step is to put it in writing.

When you give a written reprimand it should include:

The name of the individual should be on the letter because you don't want any confusion about whom this reprimand is for. This is especially true if more than one individual was involved.

What the employee specifically did that was not correct, and when it happened, such as:

Around noon on December 3, 2006 I heard you yelling and using profanity on the phone.

It doesn't matter if they were talking to a customer or their significant other, inappropriate behavior at work isn't acceptable. So if they say, I was talking to my girlfriend, you point out that who they were talking too isn't important, it's the employee's inappropriate behavior that is being discussed.

Point out the company policy that specifically states (in our example) that yelling and cussing are not appropriate in the office. Period. It doesn't matter who they were yelling and cussing at, it still isn't professional.

Whenever possible provide examples of more appropriate ways of dealing with the situation then include those.

The written reprimand should include your signature as well as the individual's signature. Point out that their signing the reprimand is not an acknowledgement of guilt; it is to acknowledge receipt of the written reprimand. Be sure they understand this.

They should have sufficient time to provide a written respond to the reprimand, and any response should be put in their employee file with the reprimand.

Be compassionate
Now to the very difficult process of actually telling the individual they are being let go. As with the reprimands, you need to do this privately and calmly. Say you are sorry, but the relationship simply isn't working out the way you had anticipated and you are going to let the individual go. Be gentle, be kind, and be firm; some employees will try to play on your soft side to get you to reconsider. Some may even be relieved, but I suspect most will feel hollow, disappointed and upset.

Have a check with their appropriate wages to hand them. I would suggest that you also continue to pay them for three or four weeks while they are in shock and trying to come to grips with what just happened. Is it necessary? No, but I feel it is the compassionate thing to do.

Treat the employee with as much understanding and compassion as you can, even though this is an extremely negative experience you want them to have as much respect for you and the company as possible. There is simply no way of telling what their ill will could do to your reputation or your bottom line.

Do not terminate someone in the middle of the day; do it either as soon as they walk in the door or at the end of the day. My preference is for the end of the day so that they don't have the opportunity of spreading any rumors or vile comments to other staff members. Also, doing this late in the day avoids as much unnecessary embarrassment in front of co-workers as possible.

As to their personal effects, you can either shove the person out the door and have someone else box up their effects or you can let the employee gather their things. One more reason I like the end of the day: the employee can get their things together and walk out of a basically empty office with little embarrassment or humiliation.

Oh, some employees will include staplers and other small supplies among their "personal effects" but this is more apt to happen when the employee feels betrayed or humiliated. If you have done a good job with the termination these hostile feelings will be minimized.

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