The hardest thing: let an employee go

Termination: tool

Terminating too quickly:

l  You’re going to seriously hurt the person you’ve fired.

l  Makes you look harsh, look cold

l  You harm the team, fear and lose trust.

Terminating too slowly:

l  You’re harming the person who needs to be fired (don’t know the realistic standard).

l  Your reputation will take a hit

l  You’ll hurt the team

Benefits of proper termination

l  Chance to help your team improve

l  Provides a wake-up call to the terminated employee

Goals when terminating

l  Remove person from the company

l  Avoid wrong terminated lawsuits

Start by visiting someone in HR or a legal professional, they can help you avoid lawsuits.

Employment laws to consider

l  Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

l  ADA

l  FLSA

l  FMLA

l  EPA

Exceptions to Employment at will

Can’t terminate

l  As retaliation

l  For an employee refusing to do something illegal

l  For reasons of discrimination

Reviewing legality

l  Know who your go-to person is for HR/legal advice

l  Consider taking training

l  Become an expert at documenting performance

Termination process

l  Provide clear work rules and policies

l  Observe and document performance

l  Escalate feedback

l  Create formal documentation through HR

l  Consult legal/HR representatives

l  Create a termination agreement

l  Consider security concerns

l  Prepare yourself mentally

l  Terminate the employee(meeting)

l  Follow up the team

Knowing when the termination is appropriate

Extreme behaviors justifying termination (immediate act is required, HR & Police)

l  Violence

l  Sexual harassment

l  Taking drugs at work

l  Embezzling

l  Sharing company secrets

Confidence in making a termination decision

l  Progressed through tough conversations

l  Implemented performance-improvement plans

l  Reprimanded the employee

Making a termination decision

l  Do you have a well-documented and prolonged performance trend? (ability and relational behavior)

l  Are others on the team aware and upset about this person?

l  Are outsiders reacting negatively to this person? (customers, vendors and other stakeholders)

l  When I am around this person am I at ease or am I often cringe?

Dealing with serious offenses

Employee misconduct: used for lesser infractions, repeat violations may cause termination

Employee gross misconduct: reserved for more serious violations, a single violation will cause immediate termination

Causes for termination

theft, fraud, intoxication, drug use, intentional damage to property or assets, violence, creating a hostile work environment, insubordination

you must document minor infractions to provide proof

dealing with the threat of violence (train professionals and police)

l  Know your company’s policies

l  Alert security

l  Do not engage violent employees

Factors in determining termination

l  Nature of the current offenses

l  Proof

l  Employee’s history

Preparing your documentation

Reasons for not having proper documentation

l  Being too busy

l  Conflict avoidance

l  Not considering standards for termination

Documenting employee issues

l  Performance diary

l  Work samples

l  Customer surveys

l  360 evaluations

l  Video interactions

l  Automated tracking data

l  Formal letters of reprimand

l  Performance-improved plans

l  Formal paperwork

Tips for collecting documentation

l  When in doubt, document an incident fully

l  Consult proper manager or HR representative

Managing internal communication

First of all, understand your company’s policies for reprimands and terminations

Leadership team: be aware that your actions will affect your reputation, identify one or two people above you in the hierarchy to consult, signal your desire to backfill the role

Your team: be honest without hurting yourself in the future,