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Employee Terminations: How to avoid making a bad thing worse
July 27, 2008

There has been a great deal of focus on jobs lately as we seem to be moving deeper into the “contraction” phase of our workforce economy.  Huge cuts are happening across sectors as companies resize themselves.  From Starbucks to Ford Motors, whether it’s because they are bloated and overextended or suffering from a steep drops in sales, an increasing number of employees are being given their “walking papers.” 

In the New York Times and on XM Satellite Radio last week, I was interviewed by Lisa Belkin who has the “Life’s Work” column and radio show, respectively.  One of the things we talked about was whether there was a “right” time to let someone go and if so, when.  The message boards buzzed with advice and conjecture about when the blow should be delivered, as if some secret handbook exists somewhere with the right answers.  The point is that it depends…

However, regardless of the specific circumstances inherent to each company and situation, there are several guidelines that can help:

1. Generally, I recommend either Monday morning or early afternoon on Friday.  This gives both the individual and organization appropriate space to manage and deal with the separation. 
2. If the employee is traveling, figure out a way to wait until he or she is home.
3. Don’t try to anticipate all the “what ifs,” maybes and what might happen.  Factor in the “givens,” deal with what you know and use the information you have.
4. Don’t argue with the employee or defend your reasons for needing to term his/her employment.  Doing so is a surefire way to create the worst possible outcome. 
5. Have a heart and do your best to extend whatever understanding, support and assistance you can.

A termination is not just about having that final conversation. What happens afterward is just as critical for both the company and the individual(s). Often businesses make the mistake of isolating terminations to one exchange driven by numbers.  But that’s not sufficient.  Be prepared and deal with how people feel in the aftermath.
 

Posted by Donna Flagg on July 27, 2008 | Comments (0)