SheMentor -

Any time you are faced with delivering bad news to an employee, the more you plan in advance, the better you will be equipped to deal with a tense but sometimes necessary situation. The following are my recommendations for properly preparing to terminate an employee:

1. Script out what you’re going to say.  Rehearse it. Don't hesitate to refer to your notes during the termination meeting.

2. Keep your initial message short and sweet, and then be quiet. You might say something like "As you know, you have been reprimanded a number of times because of poor work performance, and you were put on probation 30 days ago. Unfortunately, your work performance has not improved in the manner in which we outlined for you, and as a result, today is going to be your last day with the company." When you finish, the employee is likely to have any number of reactions, none the least of which will likely be stunned silence. You might be inclined to try and fill the uncomfortable silence with platitudes, additional rationale for why you are now taking this action, or just plain nervous chatter. DON'T let yourself do this. Let there be an uncomfortable silence if need be until you get some kind of indication or response from your employee. Do not get pulled into an argument. Be prepared for what you will say if an argument is posed.

3.  Spend a few minutes thinking through possible responses the employee might have, and what your response will be.  The thing to remember is that once you have reached the point of termination, the time is over for continued in-depth discussions of the issue, because presumably you've spent much time and effort having many in-depth discussions up to this point with them. (you HAVE done this, haven't you? Read my article on Employee Performance Issues). You want the meeting to be polite but short, to the point, and finished quickly. Below are some examples of reactions I've heard through the years during various terminations, and the responses I prepared for those reactions:

"I can’t believe you’re terminating me, after all my years of service". My response: "I realize this must be difficult news to hear and process. However, this is a final decision."

"You’ve hated me from the very beginning". My response: "I am sorry you feel that way." That's it - stop talking after that.

"You can’t fire me.  I want to speak with your boss." My response: "This was a decision made in conjunction with my boss and with the HR department. This is a final decision and unfortunately there is nothing left to discuss."

"Please give me one more chance". My response: "I am sorry, but the time for extra chances are past. This decision is final."

"I don't understand why you're firing me - what did I do wrong?" My response: "The time is past for us to review again the conversations and documents that have comprised your performance improvement plan over the past x number of months." Depending on the situation, you could stop there, OR add:"You were told clearly at the end of each step that improvement was expected immediately and that a lack of improvement could result in your eventual termination. I encourage you to re-read the documentation that you were provided at the time of these meetings."

"I am not leaving until I get to discuss this with your boss/president of company/HR/someone else." My response: "I realize this is an upsetting situation for you. I have known you to be a person of integrity in the past. Please don't behave in such a way that I am forced to assist you in your departure in a less than dignified fashion." If they persist in this line, and continue refusing to leave, call your building's security guard and ask that they be escorted from the property. In all my years' experience, I've only had to do this one time.

4.  Once you have concluded your termination, the quicker you can allow the employee to leave, the better off you’ll be.  I strongly recommend allowing the employee to simply gather their purse or coat, and go ahead and leave and offer to have their personal items packed up and delivered to them.  You may then employ the aid of a courier service to deliver the personal items to them.  Make sure the courier who drops off their items gets a signature, confirming that they received all of the items you’ve delivered.

In the end, it is possible that your employee will ask to spend a few brief moments double checking e-mail, saying good-bye to co-workers, and making copies of any documents they'd like to take with them. As cruel as this may sound, I strongly discourage this. If the employee expresses an interest in getting any of this, you may offer to secure it for them after they are gone (i.e., e-mail copies of any pertinent files off of their laptop). In my experience, the quicker the employee is able to leave the building, the better off the situation is for them - AND for your remaining co-workers. The longer they stay in the building around their computer and around other co-workers, the better the chance for them to become angry, and do things they might not normally do (i.e., such as sending out a mass e-mail to all clients and former co-workers about what a jerk the company is to do this to him/her).

Now - this said, there's no need to make a big show of escorting the former employee out by waiting armed security guards (unless you and your HR team truly suspect that the employee could be violent or pose a threat to the other co-workers). If and when appropriate, offer to walk with the former employee back to their desk and allow them to get their purse, coat, and other easily reachable personal items. If you can, stay a discreet distance back from them, so that they can maintain whatever dignity they have left at this point, and then walk them to the elevator.

5. Present paperwork and/or last minute details. This will depend on the situation of course, and please prepare with your attorney and/or your HR representative on what is appropriate here. However, you will likely have a list of items you'd like to get back from the employee before they leave (i.e. key to office, Blackberry, company laptop, that sort of thing). Additionally, you might be required to present them with Cobra paperwork, so that they know their options on health care after their termination. Finally, it could be that you are offering some amount of severance, and this is the appropriate time to discuss this. Again - make sure you take the advice and direction from your HR representative and/or your legal counsel on exactly what should be done during this step.

And the final piece of advice I will give you when conducting a termination - and possibly the most important piece:

6. It's OK if you are nervous. In fact, if the day ever comes where you don't get nervous and a little sick at terminating an employee, you should find another job. Regardless of how well documented and/or deserved the termination is, it still represents a disruption of an employee's whole life. This will affect their marriage, their children, their future career, their financial well-being, their self-esteem, their relationships with friends, and the list goes on. I'm not asking you to rethink whether or not termination is the right solution here - no need to second-guess yourself. I'm only suggesting that it's not a bad thing to allow the implication of this disruption to the soon-to-be-ex-employee to weigh heavily on you. They deserve at least that much.

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