Employee terminations are one of the hardest parts of HR and of leadership. These conversations require empathy, professionalism, and a message that is clear and unwavering. A poorly handled termination can invite legal risk, damage morale, and negatively impact your company’s reputation. Each termination comes with its own unique circumstances, but there are several things to think about ahead of time that apply in most situations. Here are 9 tips for making your next employee termination a less hurtful and awkward experience for everyone involved:
1. Practice what you’ll say ahead of time. It helps to verbally say the words out loud (privately) before you’re under pressure in the real situation. This helps you mentally prepare and it’s a helpful way to calm your own nerves and get used to saying the words. It also helps you keep from flubbing the things you need to say.
2. Don’t say, “This is so hard for me.” Remember, you get to keep your job and they don’t. Terminations are much harder for the employee and implying otherwise is insensitive.
3. Keep your message brief. Focus on the main reason for the termination and keep this part of the message simple. Don’t give a long list of reasons and don’t launch into sharing complex details about severance, benefits, policies, etc. The employee will be in shock (particularly if the termination is unexpected) and they’ll start shutting down mentally and emotionally. They won’t remember much of what you say after the initial message sinks in. It will just overwhelm them further. Instead, summarize all of the details in an Exit Letter/Termination Letter that they can review later and share with their partner when they can’t remember the details.
4. If you’re working onsite, decide ahead of time whether you want to allow the person to return to their workspace to gather their things. This is a controversial topic and it’s one on which many HR professionals disagree. Some people feel strongly that an employee should be allowed to pack up their own personal items. Others think this is an even less dignified way to handle things because it feels horrible to be supervised while you pack up your things and then be walked out of a place that once felt like a second home. Newly terminated employees are not at their best, so is it nice to have the last time their colleagues see them be when they’re super upset and putting their things in a box? This also tends to invite more drama and disruption for the rest of your staff. A kinder alternative is to suggest that they let you take care of packing up their things and have everything sent to their home by courier.
5. If you’re working remotely, always try to do a termination “in person.” This is the most respectful way to handle it, though in this age of remote and hybrid workplaces, this is not always possible. If you can arrange to speak with the individual in person, this is best. Otherwise, a video call is always preferable to a voice-only call.
6. Use your HR rep to support you. This is what we’re here for and having this support makes a world of difference. Having a second person present with you whether it’s in person or on a video call is smart for legal reasons too. It also bring some balance to the conversation, and it’s really helpful to help you navigate unexpected curve balls, pushback, or questions.
7. Have a plan for securing your building, technology, and equipment. In most cases, access to systems and spaces should end as soon as the termination meeting starts meeting starts. If you’re conducting your meeting virtually this may not be possible, so it requires some advanced planning and communication with other people in your company who are tech savvy and aware of risk. You’ll likely need to coordinate with an office manager and a member of your IT team to make sure this is handled appropriately. The goal is to prevent bitter emails going out to clients or employees – everyone will regret this if it happens. It’s also important to secure your company and client data, and intellectual property.
8. Offer the opportunity for the employee to ask questions, but be prepared to be firm in your decision. Even if an employee disagrees with the reasoning behind their termination, it’s important to be prepared for how you will maintain control of the conversation and not let it turn into an argument or imply that the outcome could change. A simple way to handle a situation like this is to say, “I understand you don’t agree, but at this point the business decision has been made and it’s final.”
9. Communicate promptly to other people who will feel the impact of this termination. Reach out promptly to your remaining team to let them know what happened, how their work or priorities will be impacted, and what they can expect going forward. Getting ahead of this is a smart strategy to help minimize gossip among the rest of your team and keep others from panicking. If multiple managers are involved in this communication, it’s smart to collaborate ahead of time on what you will tell employees so everyone hears the same message.
Have an HR or people question? Reach out to us by phone if you want to speak to a human, or by email or webchat if you want to start a virtual conversation. We love helping growing companies thrive and we’d love to hear from you!
