Few people like the responsibility of correcting other people but of course, it is often the job of managers and HR departments to do so. We’ve all heard the horror stories of firings that seem overboard and (on the flip side) employee actions that were never addressed. Last year, one of my friends was fired after writing a letter to her supervisor asking if they could talk together to resolve a situation. She spent many upset months thereafter trying to figure out what she really did wrong and had little confidence to even go job searching again. Less than three months later, the position she had held at the company was completely eliminated, resulting in the lay-off of six additional people. When she looked back, it seemed pretty obvious that the company had initially let her go with the motivation of saving money versus a letter that she had written.
There is an honest way to deal with people, as we all know. Unfortunately, not all companies practice it. Sometimes orders come from above to “cut staff” and although no one wants to be on that particular bad-news team, they are required to get it done somehow. In this life we lead, and as imperfect humans trying to do our best, sometimes we get it wrong.
Here are some guidelines to assist in working with employees the right way:
- Always state the problem with specifics and examples. Focus on the employee’s choices in the matter and why it was not a good decision.
- Listen carefully to what they say. If someone who is genuinely shocked or sorry for their actions, it is a positive sign. Listen to their side of the story, give them the benefit of the doubt and be willing to adapt how you understood the issue if needed.
- Always keep a record of disciplinary action and any talks with the employee. If your company issues incident reports, etc, always fill them out.
- Follow your chain of command and policies for discipline carefully. With questions, ask your supervisor and company’s legal team.
- Even if employed by an “at-will” company (employer can fire and employee can quit for no reason stated), remember that your employees are human and try to be fair. Don’t fire without telling them your reason and having your process backed up. It’s a good way to have a bunch of scared employees tiptoeing around who are afraid to speak up.
- Consider discipline other than firing, if the offense did not hurt the employee/anyone and was not against the law. A Write-Up is often enough to help the employee see the issue and work to resolve it. After all, you do want your employees to be able to problem solve, right?
- Never contract out for firing. I don’t care if you have thousands of employees under your care and have to let them go all in one week, this is one of the worst things you can do. It can be psychologically damaging to the employee getting the ax (and the ones not getting the ax-trust me, word gets around) and it’s extremely bad form on the part of an employer to not take the time and do what needs to be done.
- Go out of your way to be kind and do what you can for the employee. If a severance package or help with unemployment would be helpful, provide it. This will help the person feel valued (even if they didn’t work out as an employee) and is considered good form for company practice.
Original article: Handling Difficult Situations
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