Effectively Manage the Employee Termination Process

Terminating an employee is arguably the most difficult task managers face during a career. Studies show that nearly 38 percent of all managers will have to terminate an employee at some point. Managing the emotional, business, and legal elements of the termination process can be overwhelming. Because most offices would rather respond to termination than anticipate it, terminating an employee can become an ugly, out-of-control affair. Too frequently, practices do not have adequate termination steps and processes in place.

To successfully navigate the employee termination maze, employers should consider following certain steps, as outlined below.

Critical Steps
Hire the right people. Make sure you have solid recruitment, screening, and interviewing processes in place. Properly managing a termination actually starts when the employee is recruited and hired. Be sure to communicate clearly the terms of employment to new employees. It's also important to ensure that all employment terms and conditions up to and including "at will" conditions of employment in your business are in writing, discussed, and understood. This is the time to tie up loose ends, clarify issues, and answer any outstanding questions.

Write an accurate job description. Too frequently, terminations are the result of hiring an employee whose skills and abilities do not match those required for the position. As a result, this mismatching of an employee's skill sets to the job is the actual issue, rather than the seeming problem of poor work performance.

Make sure job expectations are understood by all parties. Communicate and document your expectations. Unfortunately, during the process of termination, you often will hear the employee say, "I was not aware of this." Words like these can extend the termination process if job-related expectations are not properly communicated from the beginning. Use resources such as your policy and procedure manual, a letter of understanding, employment agreements, and initial and annual performance reviews to document that proper and consistent communication has taken place.

Detail all policies and procedures. Develop a policy and procedure manual that clearly reflects the policies, procedures, and behaviors expected from employees during their employment. Make sure every new hire receives a copy of the manual. Instruct new and existing employees to read and sign an acknowledgment form stating the employee has read the document and understands its content. Keep a signed copy in the employee's personnel file and give another signed and dated copy to the employee.

Implement a consistent, transparent, and ongoing evaluation process. If they are not already in place, establish work performance reviews (WPRs). Hold annual or semi-annual reviews. There are several imperatives you should consider when moving toward a termination: observation of poor work performance; noted breach of compliance of stated practice or state and federal law; and, most importantly, whether the proper, consistent, and ongoing documentation of each detail behind the issue(s) leading to the termination process has been carried out. Even if you reside in an "at will" state that does not mandate an employer to provide a reason for firing an employee, it is sound business practice to have a legitimate, documented reason for a termination to avoid a discrimination lawsuit. Such documentation should be captured in your WPR process, which usually is conducted within the first 90 days of employment for new employees and semi-annually or annually thereafter.

Measure progress by establishing a timeline/schedule for identified areas of improvement. Most successful organizations have a timetable for performance management. Once an employer's dissatisfaction with an employee's work performance has been identified, a period of 30 to 60 days typically is granted to further evaluate the employee's performance and or behavior. Prior to and during this time period, observed improvement, failure, or unwillingness to improve must be clearly documented.

The timeframe for such a process generally follows this pattern prior to termination: one verbal warning, one written warning, and then termination after the next incident. The written warning should clearly articulate your concerns (performance, compliance, etc.), as well as the suggested correction steps the employee is expected to follow. In these cases, it is important to be explicit in your expectations. Document all observations and allow the employee the designated time to show improvement.

Maintain open lines of communication. Open and honest communication is vital when managing or addressing performance issues with staff. If you see problems, address them immediately. It is important to create and manage a workplace environment that affords employees the opportunity to communicate their concerns to you or someone else in your practice who serves as an "open door" liaison.

Document everything, especially those behaviors that eventually may lead to termination. As stated earlier, a lack of proper documentation is the single most challenging issue that arises during terminations. Documentation serves as "backup" in the event of a wrongful termination claim, where a disgruntled former employee fights a termination, claiming there is no substantiation behind the firing. Document everything related to job performance, including dates, times, witnesses, and events.

Be consistent and fair in applying policies. If you recognized this employee as a strong performer in the recent past, yet are going to terminate based on poor performance, you are not being consistent. Also, be consistent in your interactions with employees and how you manage them. Perception can become reality and, if one of your employees perceives that you are treating another employee differently or had handled a previous termination differently, you are exposing yourself and your business to a potential lawsuit.

Make sure someone in your practice knows the national, state, and local laws regarding hiring and firing a practice employee. Become familiar with local, state, and federal labor laws and policies. Such awareness can be invaluable should the need arise and will help you and your employees establish a more compliant work environment. Contact your local department of labor office to get more information on your state's labor standards.

Prepare for the termination. Management should never go into a termination unprepared. The termination should be done in person with a termination letter in hand that outlines the employee's date of employment, unpaid vacation days, severance, and benefits continuance. Additionally, it might be beneficial to have your attorney or someone experienced in employment/labor law draft an employee release form, especially if the employee is over the age of 40 or a minor prior to the termination. Such a document could be beneficial if the employee claims "age discrimination." If possible, have a second member of the management team in the room with you during the termination.

Keep the termination meeting brief. The final meeting with the employee should be brief, and your communication on the issue should be calm yet firm. Resist the urge to defend your position and allow the employee a couple of minutes to respond. Do not be swayed; remain firm in your decision. Additionally, avoid conversation about "unemployment benefits." The appropriate state agencies will determine the outcome of the employee's application for unemployment. Terminated employees should be treated with respect and be given adequate time to clean their desks and exit your office privately.

Manage the "day after." Regardless of the size of your business, a termination in the office will have an impact. Be sure you carry on as usual. Do not share details of the termination with others, as they should remain confidential. Quickly reassign job responsibilities of the terminated staff member to others while you search for a replacement.

Terminated
Much of the anxiety around terminating an employee can be removed if you have done your homework and are prepared. While practices always should strive to avoid reaching a termination conclusion if possible, the steps and recommendations presented here hopefully will help your practice successfully survive the turmoil of termination when there is no realistic alternative.