Being the person to relieve another person of their source of livelihood can be hard especially if you are an innately compassionate person however, letting people go is sometimes a necessity for the good of the business. In some cases, that may be the best option for that employee.
The actions of some employees are in direct violation of the code and conduct of the business hence they need to be fired because not doing that is paving a way for more misdeeds maybe by other employees.
Different reasons can trigger an employment termination. It may be a termination for cause (due to a wrong action) or it may be a termination due to inefficiency in the position held. However, when there’s a need for an immediate termination of a person’s appointment, ensure the situation is listed in the employee’s code of conduct manual.
Urgent Termination Process
When you need to immediately terminate a person’s employment, follow these processes
Invite the person for a meeting and state the offence committed, ensure there’s a witness to the misconduct around. If a public offence has been committed, notify the public authorities involved. If it’s the case of a violent employee, or a person in danger of harming others, seek help from the Police or the security personnel around.
Retrieve all of the company’s properties in the employee’s possession. Try to remain calm and polite, engaging the employee in a shouting match can lead to violence. Escort the employee out of the building explaining that they are no longer there. Give the person the chance to take out all their personal effects form the premises.
When You Need to Fire for Poor Performance
Firing an employee who has not explicitly violated the code of conduct can be a very hard thing for any manager to do because sometimes, you may have a personal liking for such employee. There are however some ways it can be done that doesn’t create bad blood for the employee.
Having your employment terminated due to poor performance can be very depressing for an employee, but there are ways a manager can do it that would help the employee build their self-confidence.
When the job requires constant man-staffing and you have an employee who calls in sick on busy days, or sleeps on the job, the termination is already worth it then.
Firing employees who after multiple chances given to them are unable to meet the demanded target is quite common. For some employees, they want to leave the job hence they become lackadaisical and are due to be fired.
All in all, there are a couple of reasons why an employee can be fired due to poor performance. When you (the employer) wants to take such step (firing the employee), there are procedures to be followed
The normal procedure is that the employee would be invited to the termination meeting where the modalities of the termination will be discussed and the meeting would be followed up with a letter.
What to do before Firing
Before the termination meeting, there are things to be done
Reiterate the job expectations to the employee. Doing this helps you ensure that the employee is not ignorant of what you expect from them on the job. Reiterate the production expectation, the demanded target, plus other details they need to know. Using a performance management system helps the employee understand better the level of productivity demanded from them.
If the employee has been violating the policy statement, make them sign an undertaking. This is an agreement between them and you that any future discrepancies will warrant a termination of their appointment. If they have previously signed an undertaking agreement, there will be reduced risk of a potential litigation if you fire such an employee.
Try to help the employee, some employees underperform because there is no guidance. Before you decide to make the extreme decision of firing a staff, try to provide guidance for them, you could go beyond acting as their manager and act as their coach. This way, you can help them improve their productivity.
Ensure you are not discriminating against the employee. If you observe an employee with an issue of poor performance, be sure that there are no other employees with such issue that you are not addressing. Don’t focus on one person’s performance, address the issues based on hierarchy of seriousness. Some employees have issues that are more serious than others, ensure you are addressing the issues in that hierarchy.
Document the performance discussions. If you and an employee have discussions about the employee’s work performance, ensure to document in the employee’s file. This may be needed for future purpose. Document the date, time and the particular issue highlighted during the meeting for future references.
If you practice progressive discipline, ensure there is a written record of every warning. As you move from the stage of verbal warnings to written warnings to eventually the termination meeting, ensure there is a written record. The termination meeting shouldn’t come as a surprise to the employee.
Final Process
After these have been done, if there’s need for a termination meeting,
Fix a termination meeting with the employee, a HR personnel, the employee’s supervisor/manager. Don’t beat about the bush, go straight to the point. Tell the employee they are relieved of their duty. You may or may not give a reason behind the decision, not telling is legal advice.
Allow the employee express their opinion, engage the employee in a discussion, they deserve that courtesy. On their last day, treat them with dignity, discuss what wrong in the work relationship. Allow them voice their displeasures however, if your mind is made up, don’t allow them sweet talk you out of the decision.
Don’t get into a shouting match with the employee. Emotions can tend to get high on the end of the employee, ensure that you maintain the civility in the room, don’t argue with the employee. Help the employee move on, discuss potential employment opportunities with the employee if there’s a chance. Don’t batter their self-confidence with your choice of words.
Collect all of the company’s properties in the possession of the employee, start the process of disconnecting the staff from all of the company’s electronic network, and cut off the staff’s access to the company’s systems.
