Anyone who works for long in Human Resources has stories to tell about the day when you had to fire an employee. Despite all of the recommendations I make for employees about preparation when I ask: are you In Danger of Getting Fired or Laid Off, employees are rarely prepared to be fired. Even employees who have received regular feedback and know that they are failing on their performance improvement plan, are ill-prepared when the final meeting occurs.
For example, in a client company, not only was an employee viewing pornographic material on his computer at work, he downloaded the movies for IT staff to remove after he was fired. On another occasion, an employee, who had an outside business, called Human Resources after being fired to ask for the business records and bookkeeping that were only saved on her desktop at work. (The employer was kind.)
On yet another, an HR staff person had to show up at her company on a Saturday to help an employee who was fired sort through forty boxes of intermingled personal and work possessions that were stored at the company. Finally, I've been asked by employees who were fired for cause to review their resumes and cover letters, to serve as an employment reference, and to suggest places they should look for jobs. These requests always leave me wondering...
On the subject of firing an employee, I'm not sure there is a lot an employer can do to prepare an employee to be fired or laid off. The key is honest communication so the employee has the information necessary to see that his or her future with your organization may not look rosy. In hard economic times, honesty and clarity about the company's financial situation is the best approach for employees. Then, the employees can take the actions necessary to safeguard their own careers and income.
How do you stay employed? Or, feel free to leave your favorite story about firing an employee. Alternatively, you can always send me email.
Image Copyright Sheryl Griffin
More About How to Fire an Employee
- How to Fire With Compassion and Class
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Background Checks are a crucial component to hiring. Pre-employment screening ultimately saves a corporation money. With proper screening many issues like those above can potentially be avoided.
I would recommend an employment screening company rather than any that is free online. Free records and public records are databases and the information is not always accurate. These database searches are not FCRA compliant.
You know, even if I terminated someone for cause I would be happy to review their resume/cover letter. Why? Because I want them to go away and not bother me any more and the best way to do that is to help them get a new job.
I wouldn’t do a reference, of course. But checking over a resume for someone–no problem.
I once had an employee who was terminated for stealing $200 from a customer, return a week later to ask why he wasn’t on the schedule. When I explained that was what it meant to be fired, he asked if he could re-apply for his job. When I told him he would not be rehired, he asked if he could apply at another branch of the same company. It’s amazing how something you think is honest and clear may not translate to the person on the other end.
Even if fired for cause, I would definitely review the employee’s resume and application if they requested it(and of course, decline to be give a reference). There’s no reason that an employee shouldn’t be given a little assistance as they begin their new job search. Hopefully, being treated well as they are being terminated, will help reinforce the lesson of the termination, so they do not repeat the same mistakes. Probably not, but it’s good kharma.