Thursday, September 26, 2013

Terminating An Employee - How To Handle Terminations Safely And Securely


The least pleasant part of being a supervisor or manager is terminating an employee. No matter how horrendous that employee has been, looking someone in the face and saying, "We're terminating your employment," is just plain difficult. It doesn't matter how many times you've had to do it, either. When you're terminating someone's employment, you are making a major change in his life, something he probably doesn't want and something that may have an effect on his family as well as himself.

But like it or not, there are times when termination is the only choice. An employee who seemed to be full of potential decides to "retire" at work and doesn't meet your expectations. An employee whose job requires that he be present during specified hours, strolls in whenever he pleases, leaves when he feels like it, and is gone more than he's at work. There are thousands of scenarios, but the end result is the same; you need to move this person out of your workplace.

Communicate With Your Employee As Soon As You Identify A Problem

When I worked as a Corporate Employee Relations Manager in a Fortune 100 company, I frequently received phone calls from supervisors with employees who were not meeting expectations. Interviewing the supervisors, I'd ask how long the performance had been deficient. "Oh, about six months, maybe a little longer," was not an unusual response. Six months? When I questioned the supervisors a little more, they admitted they were reluctant to confront the employees. Some wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. They thought the employees just needed some time to settle in. Some supervisors thought things would just get better if they left the employees alone. (This will not happen!)

As soon as you see an employee struggling, even if the employee does not acknowledge or even understand he's struggling, it's important to sit down, in private, and discuss your observations. Let the employee know what you expect from him and what you've actually observed him doing. Explain how he can meet your expectations. Schedule follow-up coaching and counseling sessions. Let the employee know that you're in his corner; you want him to succeed. Encourage him to ask questions. Start every coaching and counseling session with positive feedback; then discuss areas for improvement; and end the session with positive reinforcement.

Put Job Deficiencies in Writing

If an employee is not meeting expectations, whether by way of job performance or attendance or conduct, put those deficiencies in writing. A Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) is an excellent tool to communicate what is expected, what standards are not being met, steps to be taken immediately, and consequences for not meeting those expectations. I drafted PIPs for supervisors in the form of a memo to be signed by the supervisor, the employee (if he wanted to sign it - it wasn't required), and countersigned by me. The employee received a copy whether or not he signed the PIP. The reason I signed it was that in a large company we wanted to make certain we were consistent across the board. i.e., We wanted to make certain that we treated employees in all states in the same manner.

Employees were given a reasonable period of time in which to make improvements. Often 30 days is sufficient time in which to expect a change in performance, attendance or conduct. If there is a serious deterioration, you need not wait until the end of that time period to take the next step. And if the deficiencies are only partially cured at the end of the time period, you can extend the PIP to make certain the employee does not backslide.

Make It Clear At the Outset of Employment, What Acts Constitute Grounds For Immediate Termination

There has been a lot of talk about progressive discipline. When an employee is modestly deficient in his performance or his attendance is a little less than stellar, progressive discipline may be appropriate. But there are times when the only appropriate response is immediate termination. What constitutes grounds for immediate termination may vary but here are a few that come to mind:

* Possession of firearms or knives (other than pocket knives) on company property (you may want to include company parking lots in the definition of company property).

* Physical assault on another employee or visitor on company property

* Possession and/or sale of controlled substances without a valid prescription on company property

* Threats of violence made against another employee or visitor on company property

* Sexual harassment (Immediate termination would generally be for actual sexual assault or inappropriate touching. A PIP might be issued to an employee for making an inappropriate remark.)

* Viewing child pornography on company computers or other equipment.

* Making threats against another employee based on his race, religion, national origin, etc. (Violations of state laws and Title VII are to be taken very seriously).

*Committing a felony that disqualifies an employee from working for the company. (I worked for a financial services company and financial service companies cannot hire or retain employees who have been convicted (as opposed to just being "arrested") for crimes involving robbery, theft, or embezzlement.) Your human resources department can advise you if there are restrictions of this type that apply to your company.

The Termination Process

Your employee has been coached and counseled. You've given him a PIP and the improvement, if any, was temporary. You see no other avenue left but termination. Before you start the process, it's always a good idea to get a second opinion. In the company where I worked, my opinion and my signature were required before the termination could take place. This policy was instituted by the Senior Vice President of Human Resouces to ensure that we didn't have someone terminated in California, while an employee in Georgia only received a PIP for the same reasons.

Once the paperwork has been signed, make certain you have the employee's final check ready to hand to him at the termination. In some states, like California, this is mandatory. Even if you are not required to do so, it is a good idea to give the employee his money before he leaves. It goes a long way to reducing his anxiety about his future and makes the termination at least slightly more palatable.

Does it make a difference what day you choose to do a termination? Some people like to wait to the end of the week. My preference was to either do the termination on a Monday or at the very latest, on Thursday morning. If an employee is terminated on a Friday, all he can do is sit around all weekend thinking about how he was fired. I know we call it "termination" but the word that goes off in our heads is "fired". If an employee is prone to any sort of retaliation or depression, a Friday termination can make things worse. On the other hand, if an employee is terminated at the beginning of the week, he has a reason to get up the next day and apply for unemployment and start looking for a new job.

The termination should take place in a private room. I generally used a conference room near an entrance or exit to the building. If your building is not configured this way, find some private room in which to conduct the termination. It's humiliating enough to lose your job without the whole world hearing and watching you. A member of human resources or another manager should be in the room with you as a witness.

The supervisor should remind the employee that they have discussed his deficiencies over a period of time and that things have not gotten better. The supervisor should then inform the employee, "We have decided to terminate your employment." Use the word "we" rather than "I"; it's less personal and less confrontational. Don't let the employee argue about this. Explain that the decision has already been made and you're not going to debate the decision. Let the employee know that you will not discuss his termination with anyone and that you respect his privacy.

The supervisor should arrange to have someone (either an assistant manager or someone from human resources) retrieve from the employee's desk, whatever he needs to take with him immediately. If the employee is a woman, she will want her purse. It is not a good idea to let the employee return to his desk. I have witnessed too many incidents where the supervisor let the employee collect his own things.

One supervisor told me there was nothing to worry about because the employee would act in a professional manner. Five minutes later, I was called to the work area because the employee was screaming at the top of her lungs about how unfair we were; how she had been fired for no reason and how she was going to sue us all. The disruption to the workplace was devastating, even though in this particular case, most of the other employees were happy to see this woman leave.

Let the employee know that you will pack up his belongings and have them shipped to the employee's address. Confirm the address to which the employee wants his belongings sent. When the belongings are packed up, have one person do the packing and another writing an inventory. The last thing you need is for a former employee to accuse you of stealing a Rollex he left in a drawer. You may laugh but it has been known to happen.

After the employee has been given his final check and a copy of his termination paperwork, ask him for his badge or any other company property he may have with him (company pager, company cell phone, company credit card). Escort the employee out of the building. Immediately after the now-former employee leaves, make certain security knows that this person is no longer employed by the company. If employees swipe badges to access company parking lots or buildings, make certain facilities or security disables the employee's badge. Company credit cards should be cancelled immediately, as should cell phone and pager numbers.

Other employees will undoubtedly ask what happened. It is not unusual for a terminated employee to call some of his former coworkers and ask what was said about him. Here is the appropriate response: "John Doe is no longer with the company." If they ask why, "I do not discuss other employees." If you hear employees gossiping about the terminated employee, it's probably a good idea to encourage them to go back to work, reminding them that they would not want someone to discuss them behind their back.

One last caveat: If for any reason you believe before or after the termination, you believe the employee may retaliate in any way, don't keep it a secret. Tell your own supervisor and human resources. There were many times when I had security outside the door while I participated in terminations and I never felt as if I were overreacting.

When I worked for The Boeing Company, a security guard gave me some very sage advice. Whenever I had to participate in a termination, he checked out the room where the termination would take place. The first time I saw him remove a stapler from the desk, I just laughed. I stopped laughing when he asked, "What would you do if he picked this up and hit you in the head?" Not being a person prone to violence, this had never occurred to me. "That," he said, "is why I'm in security; to make certain it does occur to you."

While I was never physically threatened or assaulted, there were cases where the immediate supervisor and I thought that possibility existed. All you have to do is watch the evening news to hear about workplace violence. If you have treated an employee with courtesy and respect, up to and including his termination, you will have gone a long way to ensuring the safety and security of the entire workplace.

No comments:

Post a Comment