You Just Fired Someone - Should You Let Them Say Goodbye?

You're not a HR Pro, you're a pyschologist.  Want proof?  Think about the 1,000 questions that come your way when you are coaching someone on the best way to do a termination.  Whether you sit in on the session or not, you want the manager to drive the session to the fullest extent possible.  At least I do.  Can I do a termination?  Sure, I've had extensive experience and am uniquely qualified to run this type of show.  I wish I couldn't say that, but I can.

Still, the manager's the business owner, so they need to do the talking, to be in charge.  I'm there if they struggle.

Of course, once you've delivered the news, it's not over.  You still have to make multiple decisions about how you handle the employee in the facility, once the news is delivered, and you're ready for them to wrap it up and leave the building.

There are obviously a lot of ways to handle this.  Some companies have the security guards waiting, and every employee who is terminated gets the perp walk, regardless of circumstances.  I'm not into the strongarm approach.  I'd rather treat the employee with more respect than that, and my style is to usually ask them if they'd like to collect the stuff from their desk or come back another time after hours to wrap things up.

If they choose to go to their desk at that moment, you've also got to deal with the prospects of the employee making a speech to a cube or manufacturing floor as they say goodbye.  That, along with security, is the primary reason a lot of companies won't allow employees to linger.

Breaking up is hard to do.  I've seen one employee in my career linger as long as Jerry McGuire in the video below and yes, I've seen them recruiting others for their next stop while they walk out.  Still, all things considered, I'd rather put the options in front of the employee and not have the rest of the employee base see the company having security strong-arm someone out the door.   

Comments

[Jessica Lee]

can i just say that i've never found a way for things not to be awkward when they come back after hours to clean up their stuff and take home their personal effects?

greet them and let them back into the office. in some cases, i stick around and "monitor" while they are packing up. in other cases, i have given them their time and asked them to just let me know when they are done but then i'm looking through what they've packed to make sure they aren't taking anything they shouldn't be taking... and then walking them out of the office, with their stuff... sometimes helping them carry boxes or getting them a dolly because they have so much. and you can only make so much small talk in a moment like that.

treat them with dignity, for sure... but i still can't get over the awkwardness. maybe with time, i'll become even more of a hard ass and will just be numb to it all.

KD - does it ever get any easier?

[Michael Haberman, SPHR]

I have done a lot of it and helped many others do it as well. The awkwardness never goes away. Whether you march them out, allow them to come back, or whatever, try to do it with the utmost dignity possible. People get more pissed off for being embarrassed than they do for being fired. That is what causes lawsuits.

BTW, I recommend terminating at the beginning of a week or middle. Never the end. Being fired on Friday does not allow the person time to do things like get to the unemployment office. They stew about it all weekend and get angrier. If they can go take some action it will forestall some of the emotion.

[Michael Moore]

Michael is right, indignities drive lawsuits, but it’s better than becoming a violence in the workplace statistic. Handling a termination involves planning the employee’s exit. Different employees require different approaches. If there is a potential for violence, get security involved. If there isn’t a violence issue, then leave security out of it. In risk management, sometimes the “how” of a termination is as important as the “why”. Don’t inflame an already bad situation by humiliating an ex-employee in front of friends and coworkers. Both will hate you.

[Shane S., CHRP]

For many of our terminations we prepay for outplacement/career transition services (aptitude testing, resume and cover letter consulting, employment agency contact).

Right after the "news", we tell the employee what to expect from the next hour. We tell them a counsellor will be in shortly, and ask "can I get anything from your desk while you are talking with him/her". The employee does not go back to their desk at all, but has the option to come back and get their stuff after hours.

Then, it is the counsellor that walks the employee out of the building - not HR or the manager.

[Gretchen]

I think most people in HR regret that they are qualified to run this show, but that experience makes the difference both for the manager, who may never have done this before, and for the employee, who's about to have his world rocked.

In most cases I'm in favor of letting the employee decide when to empty their desk, and putting the manager in charge of supervision if needed. But the decision to have someone stay or walk should always be based on a risk assessment. If you think there is any possibility of violence, you need to get security involved. It's far better to be conservative and risk 1 person's dignity than to be optimistic and put your workplace at risk.

Note to Jessica: There will always be some level of awkwardness with the exiting employee. It's ok to acknowledge the awkwardness to the employee. It helps them deal with their feelings, and reminds them that you are not only the corporate representative, you are human too.

[Marikay Jung]

Great to read these comments! There is "human" in human resources!

I agree with Michael, NEVER on a Friday and if the company is providing outplacement services, schedule the person for an introductory meeting the following morning. It keeps the former employee on a schedule of getting-up in the mornng and engages them in a productive activity -- their next position. It also provides the opportunity to "vent" to a professional who had heard it a million times and who is also able to guide the person toward thinking about the future rather than the past.

IMO, the ONLY times secruity should be involved in escorting a terminated employees is if the person is terminated for criminal activity (theft, etc.) or if the person were to act-out physically.