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Nothing you can do will make terminations entirely stress-free. But terminations are often far more challenging than they need to be. Good preparation and the right attitude will make a big difference.
Here are four general practices to make employee terminations less stressful:
1. Know Your Compliance Obligations Ahead of Time
Before conducting a termination meeting, look up applicable laws regarding termination procedures and paperwork, accrued paid leave, COBRA, and final paychecks. Refer to the laws in the state where the employee works. If you’re laying off a lot of employees, you may have specific notice obligations under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) or a similar state law.
You should also be aware that certain reasons for termination are illegal. Antidiscrimination laws prohibit terminating someone based on a protected characteristic (e.g., race, sex, religion, or national origin). Beyond that, some types of employee activity are protected, such as discussing wages with coworkers, reporting unsafe conditions, and taking various forms of legally protected leave. Make sure the termination isn’t connected to any of these.
Even when a termination is for cause, a former employee could claim your reasoning was just a pretext and that they were actually let go for an illegal reason. That risk grows when you don’t provide a sensible explanation for the termination or when you’ve been inconsistent in applying your discipline policies. The safest approach is to clearly communicate performance issues to employees as they arise, give them a chance to improve, and have documentation that justifies the legitimate business reasons behind the termination.
2. Approach Terminations with a Positive Mindset
Painful as they are, terminations can be a good thing even for the terminated employee. If someone has continually struggled to meet your performance expectations despite guidance, training, and coaching, and there’s no other role in your organization that’s suitable for them, keeping them around will only stagnate their career growth. Setting them free to find a more suitable path can be a gift, even if it’s hard in the moment.
In the case of layoffs, where the employee is not at fault, look for ways you can help them land on their feet. Provide a severance if that’s an option, remind them that they can apply for unemployment, help them update their resume, and share any opportunities or networking connections you’re aware of. As much as possible, make the layoff meeting a productive discussion about their future.
Regardless of the reason for the termination, be prepared for strong emotions like sadness and anger to surface during the termination meeting, so you can respond with confidence by acknowledging and validating the employee’s feelings without changing the end result.
3. Don’t Let Terminations Be a Surprise
Terminations should never be a complete surprise. Employees should understand what’s expected of them and what could result in their dismissal. Your employee handbook is a good place to address these expectations regarding employee behavior. But for a handbook to be useful, you need to enforce your rules consistently. If you let some employees get away with policy violations but then suddenly switch to strict enforcement, you’ll only create confusion and fear (and possibly discrimination claims). You don’t need to follow the exact same process for every kind of offense, but don’t bend the rules for some employees and not others.
You should also be clear about the kind of job performance you expect of employees. A well-written, current job description is key. A coaching culture helps, too. If managers regularly work with employees on improving their performance and enhancing their skills, they’re in a good position to spot signs early on that a struggling employee may be more successful elsewhere. In some cases, good coaching means guiding an employee out of the organization, which is usually smoother and less disruptive than an involuntary termination. When termination is the right call, prior conversations about consequences for failing to improve will soften the blow.
Lastly, don’t hide bad financials from employees. If business is slow and layoffs are a possibility, employees should be made aware so they can make informed financial decisions and contingency plans. Aside from the fact that providing a heads-up is the right thing to do, both laid-off and remaining employees will think more highly of a business that isn’t hiding the ball. In the age of social media, a company’s reputation is more valuable (or detrimental) than ever.
4. Stay Organized
Develop a checklist of tasks to complete before, during, or after the termination meeting. This list might include retrieving specific equipment and keys, disabling passwords and access cards, determining coverage for the employee’s workload, notifying coworkers and customers, distributing COBRA and unemployment insurance information, verifying the employee’s current address for W-2s, and confirming any specific details you need to cover during the meeting.
Termination day is at the very least challenging for all involved and at the worst chaotic, especially if you’re disorganized. Keeping the process smooth and orderly is both kind and professional.
Termination Guidance
For more information about terminations, we recommend starting with the Mini-Guide: Termination Best Practices and Checklists. This concise guide addresses best practices for terminations and includes checklists to help you manage termination meetings and recordkeeping.
Get HR Assistance with Terminations
If you don’t have the HR staff or resources to advise you and ensure you are handling terminations correctly, GTM can help. Our HR Support & Consulting service provides you with an expert HR consultant on a regular basis, or just when you need assistance, to ensure you are managing your employees compliantly from hiring to firing. Fill out the brief form below to learn more.
