Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
I came across an article on Salary.com titled “How You Fire Someone Matters” from friend and attorney Heather Bussing. It’s a great read and I hope you’ll check it out. The article talks about the company owning their part in the termination and considering severance as part of a package.
I wanted to add a little something to the article and that’s to treat the exiting employee with respect. If you look up respect on the internet, it’s about treating people with consideration and fairness. It doesn’t matter why the termination is happening.
- Employee caught sleeping on the job. Yep. Going to fire them? Yes. You can still treat them with respect.
- Employee admits to falsifying their expense report. Yes. Are they going to get fired? Definitely. Treat them with respect.
- A group of employees are caught stealing equipment. Yes. Are they going to get fired? Yes. Will they possibly face criminal charges? Maybe. But we can still treat them with respect.
We don’t have to be the employee’s friend. We don’t have to like the situation. We can be frustrated, disappointed, and even angry. But we can let them know that their work with us is done. We can answer their questions about benefits and final paychecks. We can make sure they get their personal belongings out of their locker and/or desk.
If organizations do a good job of setting expectations with employees, then employees know when they’ve put themselves in the position of losing their job. It’s unfortunate. But the employee does need to accept responsibility for their actions. And their manager or HR doesn’t need to be mean or disrespectful about it.
It is possible to part ways with an employee respectfully, even when the employee doesn’t give the company respect. The Salary.com article is absolutely right. How organizations fire someone matters.
Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Washington, DC
