Leadership Essentials - How to Terminate an Employee

This topic focuses on how to conduct a proper termination meeting. It includes best practices and tips, like making sure you schedule an in-person meeting, rather than terminating someone over the phone or via email, how to keep the conversation on track, what to discuss, what shouldn’t be revisited, and so on.

• Questions (level 1, 2, 3)

This topic is currently available in English.

1. When terminating an employee, always do so in a private, in-person meeting. This helps keep morale as high as possible and helps keep the trust that you’ve built with other employees, so others aren’t afraid of being fired as well.

2. Keep the conversation concise, and tell them the reason for the meeting within 30 seconds of the meeting starting. The more detailed you are, the less able you will be to use any information you discover after their termination in a subsequent lawsuit.

3. Do not reiterate your dissatisfaction with their performance after the decision has been made. Repeating details that led to termination does not accomplish anything and can be cruel.

4. If the employee asks you why they’re being terminated, tell them their performance issues have already been discussed, and do not meet the required standards. This allows the employee to leave with their dignity and answers their question, even if being terminated was a surprise.

5. Make sure the employee understands that the decision is final, so they’re not confused and don’t try to convince you to change your mind.

6. Always be kind while being clear and concise. Don’t leave any opportunity for a miscommunication and respect the employee’s feelings.

7. Always end the meeting on a positive/high note, like thanking them for their contributions, or encouraging them to find a position/company that’s a better match for their skillset. This shows professionalism and good will.

This final topic focuses on what you should do after the termination meeting has ended. Ideally, you would shake hands and wish your former employee well; however, in some cases, the exchange doesn’t end there. Sometimes, the employee has company equipment that needs to be returned, or they need to return to their work area for one reason or another, etc. This topic teaches you the best way to handle these situations, so you not only avoid an uncomfortable situation or disruption but so you can also protect the dignity of the terminated worker.

• Questions (level 1, 2, 3)

This topic is currently available in English.

1. Never allow a terminated employee to leave the building with company property; you will likely not recover the items, and a disgruntled employee could affect business if they have the right tools with them. Ask them to leave their keys, laptop, tablet, phone, badges, etc., with you before escorting them from the building.

2. If possible, do not allow a terminated employee to access their work area or meet their coworkers. Some terminated employees can be upset and cause a disruption. If the employee needs to return to their workstation to collect some personal items, escort them.

3. If the employee must return to their workstation, make arrangements to escort them to their area during a lunch break or after work hours, or offer to have their items delivered to their home. This allows you to remove any company documents and material from their desk, such as customer files, and so forth, and allows the employee privacy when they pick up their possessions.

4. Minimize the contact the terminated employee has with other employees on the work site. This is to preserve their own dignity.

5. Never allow terminated employees to access IT systems or databases; change all required access codes. This will help to mitigate data and information theft risks.

6. Officially inform the rest of the team shortly after the termination. This helps avoid confusion and hearsay which can be detrimental to the business culture.

7. Send an email to your manager and HR adviser, being specific about what you said and how the employee reacted. A record made soon after the fact could be useful in the event of any legal action.